What's Done In The Dark
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: Secrets come out at some point... when some aren't as easy to hide as they thought, will things ever be the same? (Forbidden Love AU)
1. Chapter 1

' _The hell?!'_ Alexa thought as she stopped in the hotel hallway and heard a few faint sounds from the nearby area. She brushed it off though, not thinking much until she started walking towards her room…

But the noises got louder… and she recognised the soft laugh, knowing it belonged to Amanda.

Alexa reached the elevator and pressed the button… only for the doors to stayed closed.

"Open up, Mandy!" Alexa yells, beating her fists against the doors… it wasn't long before she stepped back, counted to ten and started yelling again… which got someone else's attention.

"Alexa? Doors broken again?" Samoa Joe asks after walking over to her.

"No… the elevator's stalled because someone's acting like a horny teenager!" Alexa says, shouting the last part at Amanda.

Joe turned to his phone when it chimed, seeing a text from Natia.

' _What's going on, elevator stalled?'_

' _Sort of… Alexa's screaming her head off at a couple in the elevator.'_ Joe replies, Natia's response being immediate.

' _Love in an elevator. Nice. :D'_

' _Yeah. People get crazy here.'_ Joe replies, Alexa storming off and banging her fist against Seth's door.

"You know, when you don't answer your-" Seth starts to say as he opens the door, seeing Alexa instead. "Oh… sorry, thought Mandy was out here." He says.

"Want to know where she is?! She's getting-" Alexa starts to say, protesting when Joe clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Joe, what the hell is she talking about?" Seth asks.

"She's just angry because the elevator stalled. You can't find Mandy? Where was she last time?" Joe says.

"Said she was gonna meet up with a friend… I'm gonna find her if she doesn't come back." Seth says, Joe screaming as Alexa's sharp teeth dug into his hand and she backed away.

"Alexa, what did you do that for?!" Joe yells.

"Tell him about what she's really doing or I will!" Alexa yells, spitting Joe's blood out.

In the hotel bar, Natia turned back to Roman.

"Joe not heading down here?" Roman asks.

"He can't. Somebody's getting lucky in the elevator." Natia says as she sipped her martini.

"Could be anyone in the company, people get crazy at times…" Roman says, glancing at his phone. "Damn… I guess she must not be near her phone." He says.

"Who?" Natia asks.

"A friend of mine I was hoping to meet up with tonight, her name's Amanda. Ah well, maybe she's with that guy of hers." Roman says, Natia smirking slightly.

"You don't think she's the one in the elevator do you?" Natia asks.

"Possibly… but she's a grown woman, she can be with whoever she wants to." Roman says, him and Natia leaving the bar.

When they eventually reached the fourth floor, the doors opened partially… and Amanda turned wide eyed as she was half naked and frantically pressed the button to close the doors, Natia finding Joe and the two hugging.

"Hey sis. Everything okay?" Joe says as they let go.

"Just fine. What happened to your hand?" Natia says, examining her brother's hand.

"Alexa bit me in anger when I tried to keep her from exposing a secret." Joe says, Roman knocking on the elevator door.

"We're not exiting this elevator until I'm sure you're not gonna kill him!" Amanda says.

"Kill who exactly?" Joe asks.

"That would be me…" Finn says nervously, Joe's jaw nearly hitting the floor.

"Well, I recognize that voice and that accent. Good choice!" Natia says.

"Seth's not gonna see it that way." Roman says.

"See what which way?" Dean asks after walking over to him along with Natia and Joe.

"She's a grown woman like you said Roman. It's her choice... not like she has to share a bed with Seth." Natia says.

"I missed your sense of humor, Natia." Finn says sarcastically, the doors opening and the now dressed couple exiting it but Amanda had a slight limp because of her back having hit the wall too hard.

"Well, it's the truth isn't it? No adultery." Natia says.

"Yeah but Seth doesn't take too kindly to the truth." Amanda says, her and Finn kissing.

"He's that overprotective of you? If so, I'm sorry because I know exactly how that can be." Natia says, glancing at Joe.

"He can be…" Amanda says, lightly rubbing her lower back from where it ached. Amanda's phone chimed, her seeing a text from Seth.

' _You okay?'_

' _Twisted up my back in a slight disagreement with someone.'_ Amanda replies, lying… but it was enough to panic Seth.

' _Ow, how bad?! Can you walk?!'_ Seth replies.

' _Yes, just need to take it easy.'_ Amanda replies.

Natia and Joe left, Natia finding Seth as Joe headed to the room.

"Hey! You've seen my friend?! 5'1", long brown hair, brown eyes?!" Seth says, shoving his keys into his pocket as he tried to leave the hotel room.

"Sounds familiar. Think I saw her earlier tonight." Natia says.

"Where exactly? I know she won't want to go to a hospital but back injuries are nothing to mess with, it's happened to her before." Seth says.

"She hurt her back? That's not good. I saw her in the lobby earlier if it's the same person and she was fine then." Natia lies, not wanting him to cause any drama for the woman.

"Alright, thanks." Seth says, leaving and Natia texting Joe.

' _Sent him off on a goose chase.'_

' _How long do you think it'll be before he finds out though?'_ Joe replies.

' _Sent him down to the lobby so get a hold of Amanda and let her know. Not sure exactly how long it'll stall him so she needs to be ready.'_

' _On it.'_ Joe replies, dialing Amanda's number.

"She sent him off somewhere?" Amanda asks.

"Yep, the lobby." Joe says.

"Might not last long, last time we got caught, it was Enzo Amore who caught us." Finn says, Joe laughing.

Reaching the lobby and looking around, Seth walked up to a small brunette and grabbed her… only for it to be Bayley and her slapping him.

"Seth, what the hell's wrong with you?!" Bayley asks.

"Mistook you for Mandy for a split second, sorry." Seth says, rubbing his face.

"And who told you that she was down here?" Bayley asks.

"A woman about the same height. Long raven hair, brown eyes…" Seth says.

"Lot of people fit that description." Bayley says before leaving, Seth turning frustrated and grabbing his phone, texting Joe.

' _Organize search party, Mandy's missing!'_

' _Calm your ass down, just saw her and she said she was calling it a night.'_ Joe replies, Natia looking from the Tv.

"Was that him?" Natia asks.

"Yeah. Wanting a search party organized, treating Mandy like a teenager." Joe says, Natia rolling her eyes. "That girl has a lot of patience with him." He says.

"Sounds like they need to give her some kind of award or something for putting up with that." Natia says.

Joe nodded, checking his bandaged finger and muttering "Damn Alexa.", Natia's head snapping up.

"She got you good didn't she? Crazy bitch." Natia says.

"Yep. Now I understand why Mandy beat her so badly after Alexa bit her in a match… when her rage hits its limits, I get a bit scared for those around her." Joe says.

"Sounds like they need to give Alexa a rabies shot or something." Natia says.

"Alexa's not rabid, just mean." Joe says.

But those thoughts lingered... it was only a matter of time before Finn and Amanda's relationship was exposed.

And Joe knew that if one secret was revealed, others would follow.


	2. Chapter 2

" _Did I get a bit rough? I swear, I-" Amanda says when she saw Finn rubbing his shoulder, Finn lightly brushing her hair back to reassure her._

" _Hey… I'm alright, no harm to it." Finn says as he carefully moved his still healing shoulder and his arm wound itself around Amanda's waist, both out of energy… too out of energy to where they were closing their eyes._

 _But it was as they did that they opened them again, Alexa's shouting growing louder._

" _She'll wear herself out…" Both said simultaneously…_

Amanda and Finn growled sleepily as their phones chimed, both tempted to ignore them.

"Why does Roman always have to text us at 5:30 in the morning?" Amanda mumbles, checking her phone… but instead of Roman, it was Joe.

' _Lobby, now. Need to break it to him.'_

' _Your idea or Roman's?'_ Amanda replies.

' _Dean's… and Natia slapped him for it.'_ Joe replies.

"She did more than slap me." Dean mutters, holding ice to his face.

"You deserved it." Natia says.

"Where the hell is Seth?" Dean asks impatiently.

' _Rollins, get your ass outta bed!'_ Joe texts to Seth.

' _At 5:30 in the damn morning?! I searched for Mandy for hours before I crashed an hour ago!'_ Seth replies.

' _Don't make me come up there, you twit!'_ Natia texts to Seth after taking Joe's phone.

' _Grr. Fine!'_ Seth replied, Natia smirking.

"Watching reruns of Courage The Cowardly Dog again?" Roman asks.

"Of course. It worked though, didn't it? He's getting his ass out of bed." Natia replies, smiling.

It had taken a few minutes but Seth, now dressed, reached the lobby and sat down.

"This some kind of group meeting?" Seth asks.

"Something like that." Natia says, hearing the elevator doors open and seeing Finn and Amanda exit it, the two ready for their day.

Seth heard footsteps and turned, seeing Amanda and smiling slightly as she readjusted her Balor Club muscle tank top and brushed a hair off of her black and white lightning print leggings… but then turned a bit confused when he saw Finn and the smile disappeared.

"Is this some kind of joke?!" Seth asks when he saw the two holding hands.

"No… Finn and I've been seeing each other since last summer." Amanda says, jumping slightly when Seth slammed his fist on the table.

"Seth, there's no reason to act like that!" Joe says, Seth turning infuriated and bolting up to his feet as Finn stood protectively in front of Amanda.

"Hey dumbass!" Natia shouts, stepping in between Seth and Finn. "You need to calm down! Like my brother said, there's no reason to act like that." She says.

"Calm down?! Why the hell didn't she say anything about it sooner?!" Seth yells.

"Maybe because she knew you'd react just like this." Natia says angrily.

"Seth, you need to calm down. Amanda and I are adults and we love each other, that's not gonna be pulled apart because you're acting like a maniac." Finn says, Seth turning enraged.

"A maniac?! Oh and I guess it started out innocently and you haven't been lusting after her since you met her?!" Seth yells, Joe grabbing him and dragging him outside. "Joe, how long have you known about it?!" He demands.

"That she was seeing someone? For a while. Didn't know who it was at first." Joe says as Natia walked out to them.

"Everything okay?" Natia asks.

"Getting there…" Seth said through gritted teeth, Natia knowing that he was still aggravated when she saw him glaring at the couple in the hotel.

"Seth you really need to calm down. They're both adults and they love each other like Finn said." Natia says before taking a breath. "If you keep acting like this you run the risk of losing a great friend. Think about that for a minute. Is that what you really want?" She finishes.

"No… I just feel like… I was blindsided. I really can't remembered the last time she had a real smile on her face, one that wasn't hiding something." Seth says.

"Look at her now though. She's really happy with Finn. Is that something you want to try and destroy with your being so protective of her?" Natia says.

"I'm gonna go clear my mind…" Seth says before leaving, Natia and Joe heading into the hotel and back to the group.

"Wait, you didn't tell him either?" Roman asks.

"Renee and I haven't told many people about the marriage yet." Dean says.

"If you're talking about Seth, you may want to hold off on telling him anything for a while… let him get his head around this because I don't think he could take much more right now." Joe says.

"Probably for the best." Dean says, Amanda somewhere in between asleep and awake as her head was rested on Finn's left shoulder.

Once everyone was completely awake, they headed out to McDonalds for breakfast… and saw Alexa and Carmella, who glanced at them before turning back to each other.

"Well, damn… gotta admit, she's got great taste." Carmella says.

"They could've used the bed in their room! And when I thought that her friend should know, Joe tried to shut me up!" Alexa says, still half asleep.

"That's how you got bitten?" Amanda asks quietly after turning to Joe.

"Yep, she was about to shoot her mouth off to him. Seth's not the only one with anger issues, Tia." Joe says.

"So I've gathered." Natia says.

 _Hollywood Swinging_ by Kool And The Gang played from Amanda's phone, her seeing that it was a call from Enzo and answering it.

"The whole company is going crazy, what the hell happened?!" Enzo asks.

"We got caught last night." Amanda says.

"Damn… how'd Seth react?" Enzo asks.

"Not too favorably…" Amanda says, Natia seeing a text on her phone from Cass.

' _The hell is Seth's problem?! I think Mandy and Finn are a cute couple!'_

' _He's overprotective of her and he's hurt that she didn't tell him sooner.'_ Natia replies.

' _In all fairness, Mandy does value her privacy… and I think a part of her blames Seth for Finn's shoulder getting injured last summer, even if she'll never vocally admit it.'_ Cass replies.

' _She may but that's only natural. The man she loves got hurt and she probably felt powerless because there was nothing she could do about it.'_ Natia replies.

The door to the restaurant opened and Amanda saw Miz and Maryse walk in, Maryse's eyes narrowing at the small brunette and Miz dragging his wife to a table.

"The hell's wrong with her?" Joe asks.

"Long story, Joe." Amanda says, some of the group sitting down while the others went to the front of the restaurant.

But in the back of Amanda's mind as Finn lightly rubbed her right thigh and the two kissed, Amanda knew Seth cared about her… even if he didn't always express it properly.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Shoutout to Brookeworm for help with this, thank you.**

" _How the hell am I the problem when you're running around with him and people are already referring to you two as a married couple?!" Seth yelled._

" _That photo was a forgery, do you see a ring on my finger?!" Amanda says, holding up her left hand. "There is a thing called Photoshop and crazies on Instagram, there's no secret marriage!" She says, lowering her hand and turning to leave, Seth stopping her._

" _We need to talk about this, Mandy!" Seth says, the brunette facing him before seeing Natia, who looked like she was gonna beat him senseless._

" _And we will when you're calmed down… Finn and I are leaving early, I have a surprise appearance tomorrow." Amanda says, yanking her arm out of Seth's grip and leaving._

 _It was as she reached the locker room that her phone chimed and she saw a missed call from Baron. She put the phone away and her mind began to wander as she felt Finn's arms wrap around her and him kissing her neck._

" _I think at this point with how Seth is, we should run off and elope." Finn says quietly as Amanda turned to face him and stood up on her tiptoes to make up for the height difference and the two kissed._

 _She was sorely tempted to agree with him… but it would royally piss Seth off past the point of no return..._

Tension rarely happened on SmackDown… but Baron knew it when he felt it as he watched the segment between Randy and Jinder.

His attempts to contact Amanda after she didn't answer her phone had him worried… and when he heard his phone chime, he looked at it.

' _Get ready for an unexpected surprise, pal.'_

Baron's head snapped towards the Tv when he saw the Bollywood Boyz and Jinder attack Randy… and then he jumped back when the all too familiar gong went off and the lights went out.

"What the hell?! Is The Deadman back for revenge?!" Bradshaw exclaimed as the commentary team tried to figure out what was going on.

The lights came back on and a small hooded figure was sat on the top turnbuckle, one of the Bollywood Boyz running at it but got kicked in the face before the figure jumped down and slammed the assailant into the turnbuckle. Within seconds, he was hoisted up there and the figure hit an inverted Demon's Destruction before climbing up and using the Swanton Bomb.

"It's an ambush in the ring, who the hell is that?!" Bradshaw yells as the other twin was hit with the 1916 DDT.

Jinder charged at it but once again, the small figure ducked and jumped up with an RKO, Randy seeing a flash of stormy blue grey nail polish as after the figure was up to the full height, the hood was removed and the fans went crazy.

"I'll be damned…" Randy says quietly.

"Holy hell! That's Raw's Demon Mistress, Mandy Balor!" Byron exclaimed as the fans chanted "Mrs. Balor!" and "Demon Mistress!" as Amanda helped Randy to his feet.

"Sorry about the impromptu drop by but I felt like you needed help out here, my crazy viper friend." Amanda says into the microphone after the two hugged for a few minutes and Jinder pulled himself up and started shouting at Amanda in his own native language, who turned around and gave him a hard slap across the face for good measure, Jinder reeling back. "I get the point, you think of me as a whore because of the way you were brought up, believing that women should be pure before marriage… America may be going to hell in some aspects such as our newest president but not in the ways you think, Jinder. I'm in love, it's not wrong to express it." She says, Jinder snatching the microphone from her.

"You've said the same thing about every other man you gave yourself to! What's so different about-" Jinder says before all three heard Finn's music blare through the arena and he headed out there and into the ring, taking the microphone.

"Hey." Randy says, all three turning to him and seeing him put the title on his shoulder. "Unlike you, Jinder, I have no problem with them. People change, Mandy… or Mrs. Balor as they like to call her, certainly has and for the better. There's nothing wrong with that, she's still seen as beautifully broken but she's put every piece back together… and you do not get to disrespect her or Finn like that." Randy says, Finn turning to Jinder.

"You don't know what's right for everyone, Mahal. You disrespect my girl by dragging up the past… you disrespect the Viper by trying to take his title. You want disrespect?!" Finn says before dropping the microphone and slamming his forearm into Jinder's head like Jinder did to him on Raw before the superstar shakeup.

"Well, I'm glad Mandy stood up for her friend and her future husband and has that same kind of bravery returned ten fold!" Byron says as the three left the ring area.

 **Backstage, 20 minutes later…**

Amanda, AJ Styles and Randy Orton were all sitting on crates after Jinder and the Bollywood Boyz had left, talking to each other when Baron walked by… and stopped when he heard AJ say "Babydoll, it would piss him off much worse if you two ran off and eloped." and turned to the three.

"Seth being an ass again?" Baron asks as he and Amanda hug for a minute before letting go.

"Yeah. Hey, I've wanted to ask what's with the screaming you do during your matches, Thomas." Amanda says, calling Baron by his real name.

"Just to be intimidating. Is it giving you those damned migraines again?" Baron says, Amanda nodding. "Well if I didn't look at your little face so much, I wouldn't end up with heartburn." He says as a joke, evoking raucous laughter from AJ and Randy and Amanda lightly shoving the 6'8" lone wolf before burying her face into AJ's shoulder. "I'm just messing, kiddo." He says, ruffling her hair before helping her off the crate.

Amanda hissed slightly as her left knee twisted and a dull ache shot through it, knowing it was the old injury from a decade ago.

"You alright?" Randy asks.

"Yeah, I'm good." Amanda says before heading to the cafeteria and seeing John and Finn talking, a small smile on her face… before she ran over, jumped onto John's back and swiped his hat.

Finn laughed as he saw the siblings play fighting before pulling Amanda off and kissing her.

The whole fiasco with Seth was wearing down on her… it was good to get some peace from it.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Light references to an upcoming spiritual/paranormal story, Standing On The Outside. Also, the next chapters won't follow** _ **Raw**_ **directly to a tee.**

Nerves were one thing, she was used to it after 12 years… shivering was another.

Amanda zipped up her Balor Club hoodie and felt the goosebumps forming on her mostly bare upper legs as she readjusted her black and red ring shorts… a rematch was in order tonight as well as it having turned into a triple threat match thanks to TJ Perkins deciding that he wanted a title shot… and as soon as she did, the nearby vase slid off of the table and broke into tiny pieces.

"Seth, knock it off!" Amanda shouted as soon as she saw the self proclaimed Architect nearby, Seth turning confused.

"I didn't do anything… you alright?" Seth says, walking over to her. They had gone almost a week without talking and it nearly drove both crazy.

Amanda was about to respond when she heard what sounded like a small child giggling… a laugh that tugged at her heart because it sounded so much like little Daniel Benoit.

Closing her eyes, Amanda felt a hand on her shoulder and turned away, knowing Seth wouldn't fight her on it. The young Cruiserweight Champion walked away after readjusting her title, needing time to relax…

Another hand rested on her shoulder and Amanda reacted by taking the person's left knee out and locking in the Mistress Chamber.

"Stop haunting me, damn you!" Amanda yelled with her eyes still closed as Alexa screamed relentlessly from the pain, Amanda feeling four arms pull her off and opened her eyes, seeing Finn and Seth.

"It's alright, lass, just calm down." Finn whispers, lightly stroking Amanda's hair as Seth helped Alexa up.

"Just how hard did you hit your head at the rumble?! Is your brain fucking-" Alexa shouts, stopping when she saw what she considered the 'AJ Lee' look and backing away out of sight, shaken to her very being.

"I'm losing it." Amanda whispers, Finn and Seth helping her up.

"No you're not, you're just under more than the usual stress… everything's gonna be okay, love." Finn says, pulling Amanda into his arms and the two hugging as Seth walked away, himself rattled.

Heading out there for Miz Tv, the two sat down in two of the chairs… but Amanda zoned out halfway through as she saw a familiar face.

It had been just a little over a year since she lost Chyna… someone who had been a strange mix between a sister and mother to her.

"Amanda, snap out of it!" Maryse yelled, Amanda's head snapping up and her standing up. "Have you heard anything that's been said? You know, I really don't understand yours and Finn's love but-" She shouts, cut off by a sickening backhand from the smaller diva.

Falling to her knees, the bleached blonde glared at the tiny brunette as Finn held Amanda back and Miz helped Maryse up. Wordlessly, Amanda unzipped the hoodie to show the Cruiserweight Championship and grabbed a microphone.

"The 6 years you've been gone, I've been proving why I am not only a tough wrestler but unlike your hubby, I _am_ a fighting champion! You want to throw cheap insults at me?! Well-" Amanda says, running at Maryse and hitting a combo of the Twist Of Fate followed by the California Dream until once again, the fight was broken up.

 **A half hour, Amanda's P.O.V, Cruiserweight Championship match…**

"After what's happened earlier, I don't think she's in the proper mindset to do it but our Cruiserweight champion is out here in her new Demon Mistress ring gear!" Michael says as Finn and I kiss before he exits the ring and I turn to TJ and Neville.

The match kicks off and all three of us trade moves back and forth, the unadulterated chaos going on for 15 minutes as TJ dropkicks me against the steel steps and I hear a sickening crack… sweet merciful hell, I think I just broke my spine!

I fall to the floor as the lights go out and I know those creepy images are flickering onto the tron… before the lights nearly blinded me and through my blurred vision…

"What the hell is Bray Wyatt doing here?!" Corey exclaimed as Finn helps me up and I see Bray hit TJ and Neville with the Sister Abigail.

"We're outta here, your health is more important than a victory." Finn says, handing me my championship and trying to help me from the area… but both of us are thrown into the barricade and hit the floor again.

"Where do you think you're going with her?! She doesn't belong to you!" Bray yells at Finn before picking me up, about to hit the Sister Abigail… but I see another familiar face.

"Let her go." Elizabeth whispers, Bray putting me on the ground and having to improvise, kisses me on my forehead.

"My Abigail… not the Demon Mistress. Soon… you will come back to me." Bray whispers, letting me go before the lights flicker off… and the next person near me is Finn as Neville helps TJ up.

"Go get the medics." TJ says, Neville giving me a sympathetic look before leaving as TJ walked over to us. "Hey, kiddo… how bad is the pain?" He asks after crouching down, resting his hands on my knees as Finn kept his arms around my shoulders.

I can't stand up on my own… my legs feel like jello and my back feels like I was under that damn forklift that Baron used on Dean back in February.

I dig my nails into Finn's jacket as he picks me up into his arms before standing up himself as the paramedics rush over, Neville completely frantic when he sees that not only is it my back but my right shoulder is sliced open.

"Ouch… here, kiddo." Neville says, pressing a towel to the wound and tying it like a tourniquet.

 **Backstage area, Finn's P.O.V**

"Thankfully, it's just three cracked ribs. Bruises are under the skin and on the muscles so they won't appear for a day or two… stitches need to be left in for two weeks." Dr. Amann says after stitching Mandy's shoulder up and bandaging it as Matt and Jeff run in.

"Oh damn… did you really lose a tooth?" Mandy asks, both of us seeing that Jeff's right incisor was gone.

"It can be easily fixed… you, not so much. Damn TJ, I'm gonna whip his ass." I say after turning back to her, anger slipping through.

Storyline or not, several lines were crossed tonight… and it didn't end well for her, I panicked when I heard the sickening cracks, I thought… I thought that she was paralyzed.

It takes a bit longer but I help her to our locker room and help her sit down, tears streaming down her face and exhaustion setting in.

"Hey… it's alright." I say, sitting down and resting my hands on her arms as she looks at me… she's so damn disappointed in herself, she worked so hard for that title.

"Now I know how you felt… after Summerslam. So beaten down…" Mandy says as she brushed her tears away, us seeing Natia and Joe walk in.

"We'll just… give you guys some space." Natia says, her and Joe leaving and gently closing the door as Mandy dissolved into sobs and I wrapped my arms around her, the two of us holding each other.

"I let them down tonight…" Mandy says through her tears as we look at each other. "I let you down…" She says.

"No, you could never disappoint me… you did amazing out there, baby. I'm proud of you, no matter what." I say before the two of us stretch out on the couch and I hold her in my arms as she rests her head on my right shoulder.

There really are times when you feel kicked down in life… but I'll never let her crash and fall.


	5. Chapter 5

" _Hey. Any better?" Jeff says as he and Matt checked on a now cleaned off Amanda, who was dressed in an oversized Balor Club tank top and zebra print pajama shorts, Amanda putting two Aleve gel capsules in her mouth before swallowing them with water._

" _Once those kick in, hopefully. Honestly, you look like Jack Sparrow without that tooth." Amanda says, Jeff and Matt laughing slightly._

" _Yeah, you got a point. Still, a missing tooth is nothing compared to your injuries, I should beat TJ's ass for that!" Jeff says, growling the last part._

" _I agree with you guys but we're all exhausted… time to unwind and get some sleep." Finn says after walking back into the room, Jeff and Matt hugging Amanda and mouthing 'Take good care of her.' to Finn before leaving._

 _Once stretched out in the bed, the images of needles going into other wrestlers arms fled her tired mind… but Amanda knew it would only be temporary as there would always be someone who abused drugs in the industry._

 _The names and faces would just change._

 _Before fully dozing off, Amanda swore that she saw a familiar soul… one she wished she had met in person._

" _Hush now…" Owen says, walking over to Amanda and pressing his index fingers to her temples, Amanda's eyelids becoming heavy and she drifted off into a deep sleep before she could ask why he was here..._

Stretching out wasn't easy… Amanda rubbed her tired eyes as she felt Finn's arms around her tiny, bruised and beaten body and saw the sunlight flutter through the curtains.

It hurt to move… everything hurt as she was feeling the pain fully set in.

"Do you want me to get you anything?" Finn asks, turning concerned.

"Aleve, please." Amanda says, Finn knowing that her refusal to take anything stronger stemmed from years of seeing most of the older wrestlers shooting steroids into their body. Finn stood up after the two kissed, found the pills and some water, Amanda swallowing the pills.

Getting ready for the day took a bit longer but once they were in the lobby, the two ate breakfast… and looked through the script for Raw, Amanda frowning slightly at the first segment being a coronation for Alexa winning and Amanda being involved.

"One example of the writers screwing people over." Finn says quietly, Amanda smirking and trying not to laugh. She wasn't in any shape to compete tonight but it didn't mean that she couldn't show Alexa the difference between being a real champion and a phony just holding a title.

The drive to the arena consisted of the couple making each other laugh and singing along to whatever song was on the radio, even as _The Sound Of Silence_ by Disturbed played… and a hint of sadness glazed over Amanda's eyes as the song sometimes made her cry as she remembered the ones lost.

For a split second, she saw Roddy in the backseat, smiling at her and Finn… but in the blink of an eye, Roddy disappeared as Finn lightly rubbed Amanda's left thigh and she looked at him.

"It's okay, lass… things get too tense tonight or you start feeling too much pain, just let me know." Finn says, him and Amanda kissing.

 **Sacramento, Amanda's P.O.V**

I read through the script again to make sure I didn't miss anything in my tired mindset earlier… I'm in the locker room alone as Finn, Seth and Mike are discussing tonight's match.

And then I look up and see Owen again…

"Sorry about being so brief last night but you needed your sleep, little lady." Owen says as I set the script down and carefully stand up, my aggravated nerves not taking too kindly to it and sending pain up into my upper back.

"What's going on? Owen, I keep hearing people laugh and talk and they're not even alive anymore." I say, Owen resting his hands on my shoulders… actually resting them there and they feel so real like he never fell 78 feet and died in that ring.

"Your open and partially innocent mind allows you to see, hear and talk to us… no one likes to see these kinds of things, they're confusing and sometimes frightening but you haven't lost your mind, kiddo." Owen says, me backing away slightly.

"I'm not sane, something's seriously wrong-" I start to say, turning and seeing Roddy.

"As scary as this is darlin', he's right. You haven't gone insane, you see us because you've held onto part of who you were a decade ago… you've merged the two into who you are, a mended and healed soul, Mandy. Don't forget that, okay?" Roddy says, the two of us hugging before he and Owen disappeared.

I know I'll see them again… it's just a matter of waiting.

 _ **Monday**_ _ **Night Raw…**_

The segment was becoming intolerable as Alexa dragged up Mae Young and The Fabulous Moolah, putting herself in the same category as them… when she got to Amanda, the small brunette snatched the microphone and decided to have a little fun with the script.

"You call yourself a goddess, you think you're worthy of classifying yourself as someone people can look up to while dragging every woman in this ring down as well as the ones who paved the way so you can have the _smallest_ chance of standing in this ring, little Harley Quinn wannabe…" Amanda says, holding up her Cruiserweight Championship. "I damn near killed myself in and outside the ring for this championship last night during the match! You want to drag me down too, Alexa?! Well-" She says before a sickening punch followed and Alexa fell to the mat unconscious.

The others stood speechless in that ring, Amanda looking down at Alexa with a hint of satisfaction.

' _Some champion.'_ Amanda thought before she stood in the middle of the ring and held her title above her head proudly.

"I don't know whether the Demon Mistress has snapped and taken exception to what Alexa was saying or is making a powerful statement to the effect of _"I'm here, throw all you want at me, I ain't gonna go down until I'm dead!"_." Booker T says as _Never Let Me Down Again_ blared through the arena.

"You don't disrespect the goddess like that!" Corey exclaimed, Amanda turning and giving him the look that had long been called the 'AJ Lee' eyes as she held the microphone after brushing a stray hair off of her black shorts.

"I just did, you jackass! You got something you want to prove, take that ten foot barge pole outta your ass and step in this damn ring!" Amanda shouted, Corey scowling as Mickie and Bayley held Amanda's uninjured arm up one at a time and Sasha, Nia, Dana and Alicia hugged Amanda while Emma gave a nod of respect.

Amanda felt on top of the world despite her wounds from last night… and the show was just starting.


	6. Chapter 6

Seth stopped talking when he heard familiar music blare through the speakers and turned, seeing Finn and Amanda head down to the ring and Finn helping Amanda into it before getting into the ring himself, Amanda readjusting her Balor Club racerback tank top.

"We've been on the same level lately, Seth… but the thing is, I never lost that title, I was stripped of it and had it not been for Mandy, I would've lost my mind after my arm was hanging from my body! The line starts here!" Finn says, Seth looking at Amanda, who pursed her nude lips together for a few seconds… but before he could say anything, all three were interrupted by Dean Ambrose.

"Yikes… all this talking out here, it's like a bunch of chickens." Dean says after climbing into the ring, Amanda struggling not to laugh.

"There goes one of her lines." Seth mutters before Dean continued talking about him being Raw's main champ since Brock Lesnar was gone.

"Dean? Lesnar's more of a part timer nowadays, I used to actually respect Brock when I was younger… but aren't you forgetting something, you're not the only champ in the ring." Amanda says, holding her Cruiserweight Championship over her head.

"Didn't forget that and congratulations on that match, damn shame Bray Wyatt showed up... but Demon Mistress, that arm's gonna get tired quickly because that championship weighs more than you do." Dean says, trying to be serious but couldn't help but joke.

Before Amanda could respond, she let out an aggravated growl as Miz's music blared and he and Maryse walked down to the ring and got in it.

"I brought class to the Intercontinental Championship when I held it! And you-" Miz says, turning from Dean to Seth and continuing on with his rant before calling Finn a coward for letting Amanda attack Maryse on Miz Tv and Maryse taking the microphone.

"And you!" Maryse yells, her brown eyes locked on the small brunette. "I don't know how you're still standing after the hell that went on last night but it proves that you are either completely insane or on drugs like-" She shouts.

"I will shove my foot so far down your throat that you'll be pissing out shoelaces if you finish that insult towards Brother Nero, you plastic filled bitch!" Amanda says threateningly, Maryse turning wide eyed before narrowing her eyes as Dean grabbed his phone.

"I have a way of settling this, don't start fighting like cats, you two." Dean says before dialing a number and the call going through. "Hey, Kurt. It's Dean… yeah, can you see all of us?" He says, waving to the camera. "As much as I want to include her in this, she's not gonna be in any condition to… wait, what? Well… that can work." He says before hanging up.

"Well what did he say?!" Seth asks impatiently.

"Well he was pissed that I had his phone number to begin with…" Dean says, Amanda snickering and Dean looking at her. "Calm down, half pint… and tonight, there'll be a triple threat number one contender match for the Intercontinental Championship with our very own Demon Mistress as the special guest enforcer!" He says, the Sacramento crowd going insane.

 **Triple threat main event…**

"Okay, this is getting old." Amanda mutters as Miz ducked out of the ring again, Amanda looking at Finn and Seth with a smirk on her face. Within seconds, both were chasing Miz around the ring and into it, cutting him off.

The match continued like crazy with Amanda occasionally whacking Miz with the kendo stick when he tried to duck out again.

"Right up main street!" Miz shouted, Amanda, Finn and Seth laughing hysterically.

But things went haywire when Joe showed up and ambushed Seth… and then the lights went out again, Bray emerging in the ring.

"Oh, hell no." Joe says, turning and attacking Bray. Taking the chance, Finn hit Miz with the 1916 DDT.

Trying to interfere, Maryse screamed in pain as the kendo stick cracked across her back and she fell, Amanda continuing the beating as Finn got the pinfall.

Amanda dropped the kendo stick and ran in, her and Finn holding each other as they kissed and Maryse pulling herself up and helping Miz out of the ring, screaming about how a rematch was in order as the fight between Joe and Bray continued.

Reaching the backstage area and helping Seth to the trainer's room, Amanda and Finn took a few minutes to calm their racing hearts.

"You holding up okay, love?" Finn asks, his hands carefully resting on Amanda's hips before they kiss.

"I wish that they'd turn adrenaline into medicine… and I'm starting to worry about Brie, knowing that she's gotta be uncomfortable. It's been nearly two days… I…" Amanda says, the two hugging.

"It's okay… she and hers and Daniel's little girl will be okay, just relax." Finn says, him and Amanda kissing before he got an idea and led her to their locker room.

Backstage after cooling off in his own locker room and dressed in his normal clothes, Joe went to go check on Amanda and Finn and walked into their locker room… only to stop when he heard the young couple in the shower and turn around, leaving them to enjoy each other.

"You look spooked." Natia says after walking over to Joe, who stopped her from going into the locker room.

"Don't go in there now…" Joe says, Natia realising it… and laughing.

"I hope it doesn't aggravate her injuries… and that was pure chaos out there with you attacking Bray, that wasn't in the script." Natia says.

"Ah, there are times I just say _"Fuck the script!"_ and… I saw the tension in Mandy's face when he appeared. Bray's really been screwing with her mind." Joe says.

"He's not the only one, I just really hope things are fixed between her and Seth… those two may drive each other crazy but they do care about each other." Natia says.

Joe was hoping for the same thing... and that the chaos between Amanda and Maryse would stop too.


	7. Chapter 7

" _We probably should've waited til we got to the hotel…" Amanda says, wrapping a white oversized towel around her naked body as Finn dried himself off as well._

" _We needed to relax… things have been rather tense lately." Finn says, wrapping the towel around his waist and brushing Amanda's soaked hair over her left shoulder to examine the bruises… before both saw Roddy appear and Amanda turned embarrassed and tried to hide her red face._

" _You heard everything…" Amanda says, Roddy getting her to look up at him._

" _That's the thing about us ghosts, we hear everything the humans do on this earth… just be careful with her, boy." Roddy says, looking at Finn._

" _I… I will, sir." Finn says, Roddy smiling before he disappeared and Amanda turned to Finn._

" _I didn't want you to find out like that…" Amanda says as Finn rested his hands on her shoulders._

" _I suspected for a while, especially after you lost consciousness at the rumble and were talking during that… an open mind is one of the truly innocent things in this world, Amanda Rose. And I wouldn't change it for anything." Finn says before the two kissed._

 _Amanda wouldn't either… but there were times that it overwhelmed her…_

"And you're sure everything's okay?" Amanda asks, in the middle of a video chat with Brie and Daniel Bryan as she waited in the locker room of the O2 Arena.

"Yeah, she's just being patient is all… Mandy, you seem really nervous, everything will be okay kiddo." Daniel says, heading into the backyard to go check on Josie… and Brie saw Amanda turn and look behind her as she thought she heard the door open.

"Who's there?" Brie asks, remembering one night on SmackDown in the early part of her career that she walked by the petite brunette's locker room and heard her talking but didn't see the other person. It had taken her by shock when Amanda explained it at first but Brie had felt a hand on her shoulder that wasn't Amanda's and saw the picture of Eddie, Chris Benoit and a much younger Amanda nearby… and she knew it was true.

"I don't know… I'll call you back." Amanda says before the video chat ended.

The raven hair, brown eyes and kind smile were a dead giveaway as Amanda stood up, Nancy Benoit looking at her.

"They'll be okay, kiddo." Nancy says before Chris and little Daniel appeared, Chris tickling his son and Daniel laughing in a childlike manner.

"I do worry though… I…" Amanda says, feeling pain shoot through her still injured ribs… before a hand that took up most of her back rested on it and she turned, seeing Andre The Giant.

Amanda backed away, started to feel overwhelmed as she paced back and forth and muttered to herself that this was just her mind playing up again, confusing little Daniel.

"I've got this, buddy." Andre says, standing up and walking over to Amanda, resting his hands on her shoulders. "They'll be okay, cherie… sometimes it just takes time for little ones to be born." He says.

"But what if…" Amanda tries to ask, remembering how difficult it was for Brie when she broke down crying after the second attempt at trying resulted in another set of negatives.

Amanda started feeling a horrifyingly sharp ache in her head and the others looked at Roddy.

"Hold them back or they'll overwhelm the poor girl!" Chris says, Roddy leaving and heading into the spiritual world where all the others were basically yelling at one another.

"Hey, hey! Chill the hell out!" Roddy yelled, Chyna, Dusty and several others lost wrestling icons looking through the barrier.

"If we don't, we're gonna give that poor kid a stroke." Chyna says, the others nodding in agreement as Amanda turned and saw her.

' _Help me!'_ Amanda mouthed, Chyna turning to the others.

"Everyone needs to give her reassurance without being overbearing, okay?" Chyna says, Eddie starting to protest but Chyna looking at him and he nodded along with the others.

Roddy disappeared for a few seconds, finding Finn.

"Hey, lad!" Roddy says, Finn jumping back in fright and resting his right hand to his torso as his heart raced.

"Damn, don't do that! What's… are they all overwhelming her?" Finn says, Roddy nodding and Finn heading to the locker room.

When he ran in, Amanda looked up at him from the couch she was stretched out on, a cool gel pack on her forehead.

"Are they-" Finn starts to ask after closing the door.

"For now… did Roddy…" Amanda starts to say, Finn walking over and the two kissing.

"You two looked out for each other in life… and he still watches over you like with everyone. That truly never goes away, lass." Finn says after stretching out next to her, Amanda curling up into his arms.

Getting ready for the show after a while, Amanda reapplied her makeup to make herself look like she wasn't stressed out and lightly smacked her lips together after applying the wine toned lipcolor that had a matte finish to it.

The world she knew ten years ago wouldn't come back… but as Amanda glanced at the scar on the palm of her left hand, she had to remind herself that it was never too late to make things right.

Little Birdie Jo would not feel the same pain Amanda felt throughout the years… not if Amanda had anything to say about it.

 **A few days later, Grays Harbor Community Hospital…**

"She's so beautiful." Amanda whispers to Finn as she held a sleeping Birdie Jo, Brie asleep in the bed.

18 hours had taken a lot out of Brie and Daniel, who was also asleep next to his wife and Finn rested his hands on his girlfriend's shoulders as Birdie's eyes opened and she babbled at them.

"Hi there little lady… we've all been waiting patiently for you and you're here now." Finn says softly, Amanda seeing Birdie wrap her tiny right hand around Finn's left index finger.

Amanda smiled… she thought back to when Kurt and Giovanna's youngest daughter Nikoletta was this small, it didn't seem like it was only last November.

And Amanda and Finn started thinking about their own future... the family they wanted.

' _It just takes time…'_ Amanda thought as Birdie looked off into the corner and Amanda knew who she was seeing.

' _And you just need to be patient, little one.'_ Chris mouths before disappearing, Birdie settling back into her aunt's arms as Amanda knew Chris was right.

The best things in life take time.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Ctinaisfashion, Fanfic is acting up so if you didn't get the message I sent you, the Joe in the story is Samoa Joe. Sorry about confusing you.**

" _Oh and I suppose you think it's fucking right to slam him into a barricade and dislocate his shoulder from its socket?!" Amanda screamed at Seth, who looked at her._

" _Okay?! No, I don't like what happened… but at least he'll know now to never touch what's not his, whether it's you or that championship!" Seth says, a bit of smugness in his voice._

 _And that was all it took for the tiny diva…_

 _Within seconds, Amanda's fists were slamming against Seth's body and he was screaming and trying to back away but she trapped his left leg so he couldn't and let loose all the repressed rage that had been building since Seth first started giving her hell for hanging around Finn._

" _Roman! Help me, help! She's gonna kill me! Cass, you're a big guy, get this crazy bitch off of me!" Seth yelled through the pain inflicted on him, Roman, Cass and Enzo managing to pull Amanda off of Seth and Cass throwing Amanda over his shoulder and taking her away from there._

 _In the trainer's room, Finn jumped back as Cass walked in and tossed Amanda onto one of the examination tables._

" _Try a healthier way of letting out your repressed rage, tiny." Cass says before leaving, Finn walking over and despite only having full use of one arm, helped Amanda sit up… and getting more paint on her, the two having embraced each other tightly after he won._

" _You really let loose and gave Seth hell, didn't you?" Finn asks, Amanda nodding as the tears she had been holding onto finally fell and him resting his left hand on her right shoulder. "It's okay, lass… we've all been there, injured during a match and feeling like the rug's been yanked out from us. It's not your fault." He says as the two hugged each other tightly._

 _Her hazel eyes looked into his ocean toned blue ones after a few minutes… and he moved his left hand from her shoulder to the side of her neck before they leaned in and their lips crashed against each other's, Finn wrapping his arms around her back as Amanda locked her legs around him._

 _The kissing stopped after a few minutes, both slowly regaining their breath… and Finn laughing a bit when he realised that more paint was on her than there was on him, Amanda laughing too as she looked at herself._

" _I guess we should go get cleaned off. The American media will have a field day, seeing us like this." Finn says, helping Amanda off the examination table before the two left, her right hand entwined with his left one._

 _A part of her didn't really care what the press would've reported about them… but at times, it was insanely hard keeping her private life out of the public eye..._

Readjusting her Demon Mistress ring gear, Amanda was waiting patiently in her and Finn's locker room and painted a small black and red cracked heart on her face to complement _Demon Mistress_ painted on her chest.

Applying her wine colored matte lipstick before closing the tube and putting it away, Amanda looked up as Miz walked in.

"Hold the buses, tonight ain't started yet!" Miz says, Amanda laughing slightly at his somewhat cheesy joke… but to him, it was great to hear her laughing again.

"Well later, you'll be saying _"Warm up the buses! This one's over!"_." Amanda says, her curls in a slightly messy ponytail as she was getting ready for her match against Alexa.

Miz could see it though as the company crept closer to Backlash, even though it was a SmackDown pay per view.

It was set on what would've been Chris and Nancy Benoit's 50th and 53rd birthdays respectively… and it left Amanda thinking if the pay per view was intentionally set on that day or if that was the only booking that the Allstate Arena had.

"Everyone ready for tonight?" Amanda asks, changing the subject.

"Yeah… just be careful." Miz says, lightly patting her on her back before leaving.

Amanda closed her eyes after the door was closed… and when she opened them again, there was a text on her phone.

' _You bet your ass we'll be there, kiddo.'_

' _Thank you, pal.'_ Amanda replied before putting her phone away. She had started talking to CM Punk again just shortly after Birdie was born and when Shane had pitched the idea of interbrand matches on Backlash, Amanda reached out to Punk and AJ Lee, sending them both tickets for the show.

Amanda brushed the feelings off for now… it was just gonna be a normal match.

And then another chime got her attention and she picked up the phone, seeing a text from Kurt.

' _Slight change in the match. It'll be you, Finn and Seth vs Alexa, Karl and Luke. I've already alerted them, just get ready kiddo.'_

Amanda started cursing in Gaelic, Finn walking into the locker room and hearing it… and knowing what had just happened. Finn walked over, lightly taking Amanda's hands into his own before the two kissed.

"Don't worry… no one's breaking character tonight, love." Finn says.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. I remember one time that Bob Holly snapped and attacked Rene Dupree over an unpaid parking ticket… and people have broken character over less than that, I just don't want anyone getting hurt or killed." Amanda says, the locker room opening and Dean walking in.

"If any one of us got killed on live Tv, they'd-" Dean says, Amanda abruptly clearing her throat and Dean taking the cue and shutting up.

Even though they thankfully never showed it on camera, the tragic loss at Over The Edge 1999 still hit a nerve with her as she and her family were in the audience that night on the start of summer break… had he lived, Owen Hart would've been 52 now.

Amanda had been screaming that night even as John had covered her eyes… it was the first time she had seen anyone fall to their death.

And she hoped and prayed that it would be the last time.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: The following is graphic. If this triggers any unwanted feelings or if you find it upsetting, do not read.**

 _ **New Orleans, 11 years earlier…**_

 _Amanda had finished brushing her teeth after Monday Night Raw had ended and readjusted her grey flannel pajama shorts and white cami. It had only been a short time since she was moved onto the main roster but already, she had felt like she spent her whole life there._

 _Rinsing out her mouth, she spit the minty mouthwash out before recapping the bottle… and heard stumbling behind her in the room._

" _Jeff?!" The small brunette called out as she exited the bathroom, Jeff looking at her… Jeff had been hurting since the Unforgiven pay per view and when he finally did get checked out, he was prescribed Baclofen, which was a common muscle relaxant. Amanda had used it once before after a fall off of the trampoline in the Hardy family backyard left her with several pulled muscles in her back and left knee._

 _But something was wrong… this wasn't the effect muscle relaxants had on people._

" _Eddie… said that something wasn't right with the medication and to come straight to you, kiddo… I… I don't…" Jeff says in a complete daze before falling and starting to choke violently, Amanda rushing forward and catching him in her arms._

 _Panic went through her… but she shoved it aside, set Jeff onto his back and immediately started CPR, not wanting to lose Jeff like she had lost Eddie._

" _What the-" Matt starts to ask as he and several others ran in._

" _Call 911!" Amanda yelled frantically, Matt dialing 911 and everyone turning worried._

 _Jeff's eyes snapped open and he took several sharp breaths as Amanda brushed his hair back._

 _At the hospital, her suspicions were confirmed… Jeff was allergic to Baclofen but it was flushed out of his system and he would recover. Clinging on tightly to the blanket the paramedics had given her, Amanda walked into the room Jeff was in as he started regaining consciousness and reached out to her._

 _Without any hesitation, she was in Jeff's arms and crying into his torso as he lightly stroked her hair._

" _It's okay, kiddo… I'm not leaving this earth for a long time, I promise." Jeff whispered into Amanda's right ear and rubbed his right hand up and down her back, her sobs softening to hiccups as she looked at him through reddened and puffy eyes. "I'm not taking that stuff again… not after seeing you so frightened." He says, Amanda looking at him._

" _But your-" Amanda starts to say, Jeff lightly shushing her._

" _I'll find another way to heal my back… you mean too much to me to leave behind." Jeff says, kissing Amanda's forehead as she nestled her head into his chest and heard his heart beating._

 _Both had slept through the night, Jeff opening his eyes when he heard rain outside and looking… nearly jumping when he saw Eddie._

" _It's okay… just stay with her, Nero." Eddie says before placing a kiss on Amanda's head and disappearing, Jeff's arms tightening a bit around Amanda as the door opened and Adam walked in, Adam knowing that Jeff was hesitant to let him near her after the whole fiasco with Lita and Matt even though things were patched up._

" _I'll, uh… I'll come back later." Adam mutters before leaving, Amanda nuzzling closer to Jeff in her sleepy state and Jeff kissing her on her forehead again._

 _He'd die before he let anyone hurt her… especially after what had happened…_

"Welcome back to Monday Night Raw as we get ready for this… this six person tag- what in the hell is that lunatic doing in the ring?!" Corey says, shouting the last part as he saw Dean Ambrose in the ring.

"Before we get the match underway, I would like to address a few things. But before that, Michael Cole, I believe you were gonna say something so go on ahead." Dean says.

"Uh… yeah, last week, Sheamus and Cesaro were out here insulting Matt and Jeff and called them a 'Novelty Act'... which infuriated not only the Hardys but their surrogate sister Mandy Cena as she took to Twitter about 15 minutes ago, no longer holding it in." Michael says.

"I've known Mandy for years, she is a sweet, gentle human being but piss her off and she'll let that repressed anger out." Booker says as Amanda's tweet was posted on the titantron.

' _Sheamus, you and Cesaro are cowards for attacking Matt and Jeff at Payback and then running on Raw when they were ready to fight. Watch closely during the match tonight, you'll see a side of me you wish you hadn't provoked! #Demon Amongst Angels.'_

The six person mixed tag got started and it wasn't long before Amanda had a beaten up and bleeding Alexa trapped in the Mistress Chamber, Alexa tapping and the bell ringing as Amanda released the hold and stood up, Finn raising her hand in victory.

Seth was trying to shake off the shock, Karl and Luke were horribly startled and so was Dean as he got into the ring.

"That… is how you finish a fight. And I know I'll have one hell of a fight on my hands at Extreme Rulez for my title." Dean says… before all four saw Miz and Maryse storm to ringside, the two getting into the ring.

"That title shot should be _mine_! I am the rightful contender, not this-" Miz starts to shout, Maryse taking the microphone from him and levelling a glare at Amanda.

But before she could talk, the microphone cut out after Finn gave a subtle signal.

"We don't want to hear any more of it, Maryse." Finn says.

"Demon King's right… and if me and him die in the ring for this title, they won't air it on Tv." Dean says.

Something inside the Cruiserweight Champion boiled over… and Amanda set her title down and walked over, a hard whack across Dean's face following before the Demon Mistress took the microphone.

"No one else… is dying in this ring. I was 8 years old, watching in the audience on Owen Hart's last night alive. There aren't gonna be any more deaths in this ring! At the end of the day, championships aren't what matters, lives do!" Amanda says as Dean wiped away the thin trail of blood from his mouth before Amanda turned to Finn and the two kissed.

"No more, it won't happen again." Finn whispers after the kiss stopped and Amanda turned back to everyone else.

"Not to anyone… no matter what their grudges are against me, I'm not gonna let them die during a match. I'd cross the line a bit, teach them that this is a sport as well as a business… but I'd put their lives before mine. And I know I just went off script big time but… well, there are things that can't wait until the cameras stop rolling." She says before setting the microphone down.

In the backstage area, half the roster was up in arms about Amanda's comments while the other half was in stony silence… and in the locker room after cleaning off, Amanda wrapped a towel around herself and kissed Finn before he headed into the shower, Amanda checking her phone and seeing tweets from Natia and Samoa Joe, the latter out with a fractured finger after an untelevised event on the European tour.

' _That's how it should be done whenever anyone speaks their mind, kiddo. #Samoan Destroyer in support of Demon Mistress.'_

' _Good to get all of that off of your shoulders after years of repeated trauma and scarring events. #It Helps To Heal.'_

' _Thank you both for your unwavering support, wish you were here tonight. #The Healing Begins… Again.'_ Amanda replied on her Twitter page before setting her phone aside and fixing up her makeup.

She still had one more role to play tonight… and it was setting up to be an unnerving one since it involved a now stubborn monster among men and the big dog in a Payback rematch.


	10. Chapter 10

" _Yeah… he was right. As much as I hate to admit it, that jackass Owens was right, I hurt myself… once." Amanda says, Finn looking at her in shock even as Amanda showed him the scar._

 _He could tell it was aged, going back almost a decade… and Finn put it together. The beautiful but broken soul in front of him had felt lost after losing not one but three people, the most heartbreaking loss being the boy she loved like her little nephew._

" _And no one else wanted the truth to come out…" Finn says, Amanda lowering her left hand._

" _I got to where I didn't feel like it was worth living anymore, I felt like a shell of who I used to be… until Roddy picked me back up to my feet and was that shoulder to cry on. And now he's gone." Amanda says, the 25 year old brushing tears away as Finn pulled her into his arms, the two embracing each other._

 _It had been a heartbreaking few weeks, Roddy gone just barely a month after Dusty's death… and another piece of the wall that Amanda had built up over time cracked._

" _You were hurting… you just wanted it to stop, it's okay." Finn says softly, Amanda burying her face into his torso and his hand rubbing up and down her back._

 _Confessions were never easy but with him, she could break down and he could pick her back up afterwards and put her heart together…_

"The following contest is a Falls Count Anywhere match! Outside the ring and serving as the special guest enforcer, Amanda Cena!" Jojo announced, the Munich fans cheering and chanting "We support you! We support you!" for five solid minutes as Amanda gripped onto the leather whip in her hands.

The match didn't even get started before Braun was sent running into the crowd by an enraged Roman, Braun giving one last look at Amanda that meant _"Be careful, tiny."_.

Miz and Finn's match was up next and the Co GM watched anxiously at ringside, even with Maryse banned. She also started to feel a bit dizzy and blinked rapidly as the fast pace was giving her motion sickness, which was a rarity… but ever since her seizures three years ago, Amanda would get the occasional case of it.

The bell was a distant ringing and she was down to her right knee when she felt Finn's arms around her and herself being picked up, Miz still semi conscious from the 1916 DDT.

"I'm okay." Amanda says, Finn pressing two fingers to her neck and was startled at her increased pulse before he and Miz were taking her to the trainers room. Amanda had another match tonight, against Neville… Finn was worrying that this was becoming too much on her neurological state.

 **Backstage…**

"Heart rate's calming down…" Dr. Amann says, the others breathing relieved sighs as Dean, Matt and Jeff ran in.

"You're staying back here, kiddo." Matt says.

"The hell I will, not with that gauntlet match as well as my second one scheduled for later!" Amanda says, Jeff lightly rubbing his hand up and down her back. "I'm… I'm just drained is all." She says.

"We all are but we haven't collapsed like that… are you sure you'll be up to competing again tonight, lass?" Finn says, Amanda nodding.

Amanda watched the tag team gauntlet match in the backstage area with the others… nerves had reemerged, Amanda feeling like ripping Sheamus and Cesaro's heads off.

When the match finally did end, Amanda took a deep breath and got ready to head out there again when Sheamus stopped her, Amanda shoving his hand off of her arm.

"You're still mad… but I'm just trying to stop you from-" Sheamus says, Amanda yanking him down to her eye level by his shirt.

"Piss me off again, you'll see why Matt and Jeff aren't novelty acts and if you think what I did to Alexa was bad, think about what I'll do to you." Amanda growls menacingly before shoving Sheamus back and heading to the curtain.

She signed up for the second tour of Europe and loved it here… but heading back home to Orlando was starting to sound really tempting.

 _ **Cruiserweight Championship Match,**_ **Amanda's P.O.V**

Lightning speed is what Adrian and I are used to, we're entertaining the fans tonight… but both of us are at our wits end with whoever's in charge of the creative team!

The lights go out again and then nearly blind us, Bray charging at Adrian and hitting him with the Sister Abigail… again with this bullshit!

"Champion retains on a technicality." Corey says as the bell rang.

"No one touches my Abigail except me!" Bray yells at Adrian… that does it!

Despite my racing heart, I charge at Bray and start attacking him, knocking him down before using the Too Sweet and Jeff's Gun Signal as the fans shout "Swanton!" as I climb up to the turnbuckle… before the lights went out as I launched myself off… and crash with a sickening thud right onto my back.

 **3rd Person Perspective…**

Amanda's eyes were half open when Neville was waving his hand in front of her face as Finn and Dean rushed to ringside, paramedics following them and turning Amanda onto her right side before she was placed onto the backboard and strapped onto it, gripping Finn's hand in absolute panic and him lightly squeezing hers.

In the backstage area, everyone paced around nervously until Finn and Amanda emerged from the trainer's room, one ice pack taped to Amanda's torso and the other to her lower back.

"Just a few bruises, nothing broken." Amanda says, the others breathing relieved sighs.

"No more than one match per event for you now… got off the phone with Kurt, you two are taking some time off." Dean says.

"But-" Amanda starts to protest.

"Just a few days… that was a scary collapse earlier and you almost slipped off the turnbuckle." Dean says, Finn whispering in Amanda's left ear.

The gears in Amanda's mind started turning as she thought it over… Seth was gonna be pissed but things needed to be resolved.


	11. Chapter 11

' _Party at the International Palms Hotel, meet me there?- Natia'_

Seth let a sly smirk slip through as he got ready and headed to the hotel, reaching the pool… but when he got there, it was Amanda instead of Natia and Amanda looked like she had just gotten out of the hot tub, water dripping off of her skin and black bikini that had a tropical print on it.

"You're fucking kidding. Well, you looked like you were healing your worn out back, I'll-" Seth says, turning to leave but Amanda forced him to sit down and sat across from him.

"I'm sorry that I resorted to this but we need to talk." Amanda says, Seth knowing that she was right. "We've been friends for years, siblings basically… which is why I don't get why you're acting like a crazy ex because I'm with Finn." She says.

"Crazy… no, damn no, I just…" Seth says, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before opening them. "I was blindsided by it. Not by you telling me but that you waited to… at first I didn't get it but I understand." He says, Amanda knowing what had lingered on their minds since it happened.

The match that ended with Finn's injury… yes, he had won but it was a bittersweet victory.

"He makes me happy… and I know I've said those words before about every other guy I've fallen in love with, especially…" Amanda says.

"Randy…" Seth says, remembering how Amanda had told him about the toxic relationship that was her first one. "Be honest with me. Did your five older brothers know what was going on before any of us?" He says after standing up, walking over and sitting down next to her.

"Not at first… they got a bit startled too. Hell, even Jeff and Matt knew before my biological brothers did." Amanda says.

That made Seth's eyes widen in shock… Amanda really had kept it quiet if it had taken her time to tell them.

"I was miserable towards the end with Randy… and that's not how it is with Finn, the only time during it when I felt down was…" Amanda says.

"Waiting for Birdie." Seth says, Amanda feeling a small hand touch her left one and looking… Seth couldn't see him but Amanda knew little Daniel when he was there.

"It's taking a bit of time but it's working, Auntie." Daniel says before disappearing into the pool to play with Roddy.

"And that match where his arm was-" Seth starts to say.

"Out of his socket… I know you didn't mean to hurt him." Amanda says.

"Maybe on some level, I wanted to for you two flirting back and forth! And it was harmless in NXT when you were managing him during your supervised medical absence from in ring competition until you became his Demon Mistress." Seth mutters, the last part louder… before he let out a scream when he was slapped upside his head. "Ow!" He says, rubbing his head.

"Serves you right and the Demon King and Demon Mistress are just characters that Finn and I play on Tv, the fans gave us those! Here I am, nearing 27 and you still treat me like a teenager!" Amanda says angrily, taking a sharp inhale and gritting her teeth as pain shot through her back, Seth lightly rubbing his hand up and down it.

Looking closer, Seth noticed the darkened circles under Amanda's hazel eyes… and it fully hit him.

"Us fighting is stressing you to where you're barely sleeping… damn it, I'm so sorry. I swear, no more of it." Seth says as Amanda looked up at him.

The two hugged each other tightly, the others watching in the nearby hotel room cheering and high fiving each other.

"Everything is chilled now so you all can come out here! Don't think that I don't see that cooler full of alcohol, Natalya!" Seth says before he and Amanda let go and the others joined them outside.

"What? We all need to de-stress before the taping of the show." Natalya says, Natia and Seth hugging and Amanda and Finn kissing.

Seth noticed the tattoos that Amanda and Finn had, knowing that Amanda's was in Irish for Always and Forever and Finn's translated to My love.

"You two really are serious about each other." Seth says, extending his hand and Finn shaking it. "Take good care of her, Finn." He says, Amanda and Finn kissing again.

The taping of Total Divas got underway and Natalya turned to the cameras after a few too many drinks.

"Give it a few months, Finn and Mandy will be getting married!" Natalya says drunkenly, Renee laughing.

"Nattie, I think you've had too much." Renee says, Amanda burying her face into Finn's right shoulder to hide her laughter.

"I can't remember the last time she got this drunk. Come on, sweetheart." Tyson says, carefully escorting his wife back into the hotel.

"We all hang around a bunch of crazies." Renee says as she and Dean kissed.

"That's the best part of being in the business!" Dean says.

"No, this is!" Seth says as Amanda walked towards him and he tossed her into the pool, Amanda resurfacing… without her bikini top.

"Seth, you loon!" Amanda says, covering her chest with her hands as Finn ran over and jumped in, wrapping his arms around Amanda before the two kissed.

"Seth, I think you might've had too many." Renee says as she, Natia and Dean walked over, Seth letting out a drunken laugh.

"I'm a bit crazy when I drink." Seth says, the others noticing the half empty bottle of Skyy Vodka.

"And right now, you need to sleep it off." Natia says as she, Renee and Dean helped Seth away into the hotel.

Amanda looked for her bikini top and found it, her and Finn getting out of the water and him covering her with a towel.

"We're all crazy in some form or another, lass." Finn says, the two holding each other.

"Yes we are… but everyone needs a little crazy in their lives." Amanda says, standing up on her tiptoes and her and Finn kissing… before heading towards the hot tub.

Waking up the next morning, Seth groaned as his head throbbed… but smiled when he saw Amanda and Finn asleep on the oversized lounge chair outside, covered by a bedsheet.

' _She needs her sleep… and I'm glad he makes her happy.'_ Seth thought.

"At least you slept through it… ain't enough pillows in the world that I could put on my ears to drown those two out." Dean mutters as he pulled himself up and stumbled towards the coffee maker, his swim trunks stuck to him.

Seth snickered slightly, letting his head fall back onto the pillow… their summer antics were starting up again.


	12. Chapter 12

" _Well, I can definitively say that it wasn't a seizure… brain scans came back normal with no relapses." Dr. James Scott says after walking back into the exam room, Amanda and Finn breathing relieved sighs._

" _So what was it exactly?" Amanda asks._

" _From what I could tell and from what you described, a mild case of motion sickness. Blinding lights and loud noises can trigger that. But there's no need to go back on the anticonvulsants, just take enough time to rest up." Dr. Scott says._

 _In the car and on the way back home, Finn drove carefully as Amanda rested her head on the passenger seat, careful not to jar her bruised back._

" _I was really freaking out when time started dragging on back there." Amanda says as Everything Counts by Depeche Mode played at a low volume, Finn lightly squeezing her small left hand._

" _Same here… seeing you fall to your knee was scary enough, what freaked me out worse was that fall you took. Just… try to stay off the top turnbuckle for a while, love." Finn says, Amanda agreeing with a nod._

 _Even though she didn't want to stay off that turnbuckle, her health mattered more than her daredevil moves… and it would just be for a while._

 _She would do everything she could to not end up how she did three years ago…_

Nighttime drove Amanda near insanity at times… especially when it was humid. Finn's arm was on her waist as he slept, Amanda hearing that faint childlike giggle again… and closing her eyes as she knew it was Daniel.

Just as she was about to sink into sleep and hopefully a good dream, Amanda's phone chimed and she looked at it… before sneaking downstairs.

"Hey…" Amanda whispered, Luke Harper breathing a relieved sigh.

"Kiddo, you scared me to death on Raw! Did it happen again, was it another seizure?! Did you hurt your head?!" Luke says frantically.

"No, it wasn't and head's okay. Just a mild case of motion sickness is what the neurologist said." Amanda says.

"Those blinding lights… I'm gonna kill Bray when I find him. I'm sorry he's putting you through all of this with the Sister Abigail storyline, I'll get myself switched to Raw." Luke says.

"Hey, there's no need for that, okay? It was just a one time scare, happens to us when we push ourselves too hard but that's part of the industry." Amanda says, Luke knowing that she would never fully walk away from it.

"Let's keep it that way. Take as much time off as you need… but you're still scheduled for Extreme Rules, aren't you?" Luke says.

"As well as Backlash… Shane's idea, not mine. Well, not entirely. Be safe, okay?" Amanda says.

"You too." Luke says, the two hanging up.

But as Amanda turned to head back upstairs, her phone rang and she narrowed her eyes… before answering it.

"Owens…" Amanda says.

"Hey… you holding up alright? I watched Raw… that was damn frightening, seeing you like that." Kevin says.

"Yeah… I'm okay. Just can't unwind, damn Florida humidity." Amanda says, trying not to start yelling as the two hadn't been civil in four years.

"I wasn't the only one watching… Karina freaked out, started giving me hell for putting stress on you. I'm terribly sorry, you didn't deserve any of it, Mandy." Kevin says, Amanda closing her eyes as tears started forming. "Are you crying? Don't cry." He says, Amanda opening her eyes and brushing her tears away.

"I'm okay… thank you for that apology, Kevin." Amanda says.

"I don't know if we'll ever get back to being friends like we were but it's better to keep the fighting on screen. No more madness off it, I promise." Kevin says.

"I'm gonna hold you to it, Kevin." Amanda heard, looked and saw a half awake Finn, who snaked his arms around her waist.

"Got it. I get out of line, beat me like a punching bag. Well, I'm gonna let you two try to sleep. Goodnight." Kevin says.

"Goodnight." Amanda says, her and Kevin hanging up and her leaning against Finn after setting her phone down. "It was Luke Harper that called first, frantic… and then Kevin called. I was tempted to scream at him." She says.

"But you heard what he had to say instead… Karina must've put the fear of the Almighty into him." Finn says, him and Amanda sitting down and stretching out on their leather sofa with her in his arms.

"When things happen… like what happened to me when I was 23… it can be terrifying. I thought it was happening all over again, that I was gonna end up waking up in a hospital room with no memory of what happened… I thought I was dying when I was being wheeled out of the hotel. I need to be careful but I…" Amanda says, looking up at Finn.

"I'd never ask you to walk away from that ring permanently… I know you too well, you never would. Just don't push yourself to where your body is breaking down, I'd be heartbroken if I lost you." Finn says before the two kiss.

"I'd be devastated if I ever lost you… I've lost too many people in my life, they've either died or walked out and not looked back… and it hurt too damn much." Amanda says, Finn kissing her on her forehead.

Carefully pulling her onto him after sitting up, the two kissed again, only stopping to pull their clothes off one by one and Finn gently lying Amanda down onto the couch before grabbing a condom out of the drawer and turning back to Amanda, who closed her eyes and tossed her head back as he kissed her repeatedly on her neck and lightly spanked her.

The next morning when Dean and Renee stopped by to check on them, both closed their eyes when they saw Amanda and Finn asleep on the couch, despite both being covered by the red blanket that was normally draped over the back of the couch.

"Told you Florida humidity drives people crazy." Renee whispers as Dean turned and buried his face and head into her blonde hair to try not to laugh.

"Those two are like two energizer bunnies, keep goin and goin…" Dean says.

"We can hear you, Mr. Lunatic Fringe." Amanda mumbles tiredly as she and Finn opened their eyes and looked at Renee and Dean.

"We'll just… be waiting in the car for a bit." Dean says, him and Renee walking outside to their rental car and closing the door, Amanda resting her head over Finn's torso and hearing his heart beating.

"We need an alarm system… or a sign that says _"No intruders."_." Finn says, the last part as a joke and Amanda laughing.

Finn smiled as he stroked Amanda's messy hair… it felt damn good to hear her laugh again.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Total Divas**_ **taping, 3 hours before** _ **Raw**_ **…**

"I know this isn't our usual schedule but we are days from Backlash and decided to check on our friend, Mandy, whose recent health scare had us all worried… we've lost too many people in this business, we don't want to lose her." Natalya says as the cameramen followed her, Naomi and Bret as well as Natia and Joe while Tyson was catching up with Cesaro and Jey stopped by Roman's locker room to see him.

Wearing her Demon Mistress ring outfit, Amanda was straightening her kneepads and hiding a scar on her left knee as she sang along to _Lonely Is The Night_ by Billy Squier, Finn helping steady her as their eight person mixed tag was looking up to be Raw's most hyped match. Feeling someone tap her right shoulder, Amanda stopped and turned.

Amanda and Natalya hugged before she hugged Naomi, Natia, Joe and turned the Pandora app off, putting her red earbuds away… before Bret walked over and him and Amanda hugged.

"Hey, kiddo. How you feeling?" Bret says after they let go.

"Feeling better. No relapses so don't worry." Amanda says.

"Then what happened, Mandy?" Naomi asks.

"Yeah, that was a damn scary collapse, you had us worried sick!" Natia and Joe said simultaneously.

"Mild case of motion sickness. Last time it happened was when I was watching Shinsuke Nakamura walk down to the ring when he was still on NXT." Amanda says.

"So no seizures? That's a relief, just be careful tonight. Both of you." Bret says.

"Alexa still pissed off?" Amanda asks.

"As well as the others. Particularly, Sheamus and Cesaro." Natalya says, Amanda knowing that Sheamus had a tendency to hold grudges at times.

"Raw tends to be a hell of a lot more intense than SmackDown and this eight person mixed tag will prove why." Naomi says to the camera.

"And stick around for the main event tonight as my brother has a match against Bray Wyatt!" Natia says.

 _ **Monday Night Raw, Hardy Boyz/Balor Club vs Team Wannabe Baddies…**_

Amanda tripped up Alicia after locking Alicia's left leg in a crisscrossed style, Alicia screaming as a sickening crack echoed from her nose and blood poured from it.

"Damn it! So sorry!" Amanda whispered after releasing the hold.

"Mishaps happen." Alicia whispered back, tagging Alexa in before being helped to the back.

"Down to a 4 on 3 handicap match now, we hope Alicia will be okay." Booker T says.

"The little Demon Queen did that on purpose, that bitch!" Corey growled as Amanda and Alexa fought, Amanda gripping Alexa's arm into a wristlock before running at the ropes and springboarding off them, Alexa screaming as she was sent flying overhead before she crashed onto her back and scrambled into her corner.

Amanda tagged Finn as Alexa tagged Cesaro, the divas exiting the ring as the two started off their part in the match.

Later into the match, Bayley was knocked down by Alexa. Seeing her opportunity, Amanda grabbed Alexa by her hair and headbutted her like Andre The Giant would do to his opponents.

"Damn it, how did you not hurt your head by doing that, Andre?" Amanda whispered, Finn's hands on her shoulders as Matt and Jeff continued to brawl outside the ring… unable to wake Alexa up, Mike Chioda called for the bell and raised Amanda's hand in victory.

"Your winner by technical knockout, Amanda Cena!" Jojo announced as an unsteady Amanda was helped to her feet, Alexa regaining consciousness and rubbing her face and head.

"Damn it…" Alexa mutters, Amanda stumbling over and pulling the blonde and red haired diva up. "Damn good shot." She says.

"You alright?" Amanda asks.

"Yeah… just a bit disoriented." Alexa says.

In the backstage area, the taping of _Total Divas_ was continuing and Natalya, Naomi, Tyson, Jey, Bret, Natia and Joe rushed into the trainer's room.

"One at a time, please." Amanda says as Finn's hands rested on her shoulders.

"How you feeling, babydoll?" Jey asks.

"Just a bit stunned, not too bad." Amanda says, her and Finn kissing.

"Now I know why you cringe every time Gallagher uses his head as a weapon." Natia says.

"That and Kurt headbutting me back in 2006 brings back crazy memories." Joe says.

Everyone headed off to their areas, Amanda and Finn cooling off in their locker room and kissing before Amanda headed to the shower and Finn thought back.

 _ **NXT: Takeover: London, 12/16/15…**_

" _How the hell does a piece of the turnbuckle go through its cover, through a kneepad and then embed itself into someone's knee?! You, Asuka, Emma and Dana need to be careful." Sami says after the trainer untied the Balor Club shirt that Finn had used for Amanda's wound, Amanda squeezing Finn's hand as lidocaine was used as a disinfectant before 9 stitches were put into Amanda's left knee and the dried blood was cleaned off._

 _It was billed as a singles match at first, then changed to a tag match… then spiraled into chaos when Emma exposed the middle turnbuckle and Amanda was down on the mat, the metal lodged in her knee._

" _I wasn't supposed to try to use the Demon's Destruction tonight… and I think I might've frightened our audience as well as the NXT roster." Amanda says as she and Finn hugged each other._

 _In the locker room later, Amanda stripped down and pulled her hair into a messy bun before stepping into the shower and turning it on, adjusting the temperature to as warm as tolerable to her._

 _Amanda closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before applying a cinnamon scented body wash to the red scrubby, cleaning herself off before setting the scrubby aside and grabbing the detachable showerhead, rinsing the soap off of her skin._

 _Careful with her stitched up knee after turning the shower off, Amanda wrapped a white oversized towel around herself after drying off. Pulling her hair out of its bun, she turned the water on again after grabbing the showerhead and soaked her hair, applying a mint scented conditioner to it and rinsing it out._

 _With the water off again, Amanda put her hair up in a red towel and washed her makeup off before reapplying it after drying her face off._

 _Injured knee or not, she was still determined to go out there to ringside and try to maintain order in Finn's match against Samoa Joe… she felt like she had to…_

 **Present time…**

"Still lingers on your mind, doesn't it?" Finn heard, looked and saw Amanda standing in front of him, her small body practically swallowed up by the white towel wrapped around it and tied on the top left corner.

"Damn right it does… scared the hell out of me that night." Finn says after standing up, pulling Amanda into his arms and the two embracing each other.

Backlash was drawing near… and that thought in the back of their minds wasn't going away anytime soon.

Outside after picking the lock, Natia quickly closed the door and turned back to the cameras.

"Not family friendly." Natia whispered, the cameramen following her to go find Natalya and Naomi.

Privacy was a rarity… and Natia would make sure that Amanda and Finn took advantage of it while they could.


	14. Chapter 14

_**See No Evil Film Set, 13 years earlier…**_

 _Back in her normal clothes after filming had wrapped up, Amanda was talking to Christina Vidal, who was mentioning how fun Kane was to work with and hoping that if a sequel were to be filmed that Amanda would be in it._

 _Amanda let out a sharp scream after feeling something poke her back and spun around… only for Kane to be stood there with the hook that was used in the movie._

" _I'm gonna get you for that, Glenn Jacobs!" Amanda says, Kane laughing._

" _Maybe one day, half pint. How are your knees and hands?" Kane says._

" _They're okay. I better get on going or I'm gonna miss my flight." Amanda says, her and Kane hugging before she and Christina hugged._

 _Amanda was back on the East coast 11 hours later and in Raleigh, North Carolina with Jeff and Matt, Chris, Nancy and Daniel unable to make it. Exhausted after a day of training, Amanda and Jeff were sprawled out on the trampoline turned ring and looking up at the darkened sky._

" _I'm still struggling, Mandy." Jeff says, Amanda turning to him._

" _The drugs?" Amanda asks, Jeff nodding._

" _It's gonna be a lifetime struggle… I feel like I'm losing the fight some days. Promise me that you'll never go down the same road I did, little lady… it's scary not feeling anything." Jeff says, Amanda nodding… and levelling a hard, stinging smack across Jeff's right arm, Jeff screaming as he playfully shoved her back. "Well anytime I feel that temptation or give in to it, feel free to do that!" He says, rubbing his arm before pulling his surrogate sister in for a hug._

" _Just making sure! You wouldn't have pushed me away so easily if you were high now!" Amanda says as her head settled onto his left shoulder. "You scare me sometimes, Jeff… I don't want to lose you." She says, Jeff kissing her on her forehead._

" _And I don't ever want to lose you. And whoever dates you is gonna get an earful from me about that they better treat you right… or I'm gonna bash a shovel over their head and toss them in an open grave before burying them alive." Jeff says, Amanda letting out a soft chuckle as her hazel eyes shined when the moonlight bounced off them._

 _It wasn't long before she started getting sleepy from hearing the crickets chirping… careful with her smaller frame, Jeff scooped up a half asleep Amanda in his arms and took her into the house, Jack barking immediately as soon as he saw them._

" _Shh… easy, buddy. Let me just get her settled into the guest room and I'll be right back." Jeff whispers, taking Amanda into the guest room and the small brunette kicking her crosstrainer shoes off of her sore feet after being put onto the bed. "First few weeks of training takes getting used to… Mandy, you'll be executing high flyer moves before you know it." He says as he kissed her on her forehead…_

 **Present time…**

Sat on a crate hours before Raw was scheduled to begin, Amanda watched _See No Evil_ on her IPhone 6+ and jumped back as she remembered one of the more graphic scenes that nearly echoed a death scene in _The Lost Boys_.

Amanda turned, seeing a slightly shaken Bayley, who was already in her ring gear and _I'm A Hugger_ tank top.

"Sorry… just watching _See No Evil_." Amanda says.

"Never thought of you as a slasher film fan, kiddo… but it's a damn good movie." Bayley says after Amanda stopped the movie and closed it out, putting her phone away… she knew what Bayley was thinking about.

"Raw's just not the same without him here every Monday." Amanda says, also missing talking to Sami… even if he tended to ramble on at times.

The two heard Finn walk over, him and Amanda kissing before he and Bayley hugged.

"I think I've got an idea…" Amanda says before whispering to Bayley, who smiled before the two hugged.

Later in the locker room, Amanda was dressed in her Demon Mistress ring gear but didn't have the body paint on just yet as she zipped up her Balor Club hoodie when she heard the door open and saw Cass, the two hugging.

"Hey, how are you and Leah holding up?" Amanda asks as they let go.

"Damn good actually, I just wish she wasn't still hanging around Ellsworth." Cass says as the door opened again and both saw Finn.

"James isn't all that strange. Maybe a bit on screen but his kids are adorable." Finn says as Enzo and Natia walked in and Natia and Amanda hugged.

"Help me before he goes and blabs to my brother, I'm not ready to say anything yet." Natia whispers after they let go.

"I think we should though." Enzo says before he and Amanda hugged.

"I can help with that." Cass says, him, Enzo and Natia leaving.

Careful with her still slightly achy back, Amanda stretched out on the couch and it wasn't too long before Finn sat down and propped her legs up onto his lap.

"Slasher films… that was one of the first things we ever talked about and how Jeff and Matt got you into watching them." Finn says.

"See No Evil freaked you out a bit." Amanda says.

"As well as Psycho… I didn't forgive Conor for a long time for getting me to watch that." Finn says before the two kissed.

"Just like Mommy made you sleep on the couch when you got David to watch Halloween."

Both jumped a bit at that… but then saw Chris, Daniel and Nancy nearby.

"He hated that holiday for a long time after." Chris says, Amanda nodding as she remembered that David spent countless nights screaming from a nightmare.

Amanda picked up her tablet when the video call alarm went off and pressed the button, Birdie sat on Brie's lap and babbling happily as she reached out and touched the screen.

"She just wanted to wish her auntie and uncle good luck tonight in their tag match." Brie says, Amanda and Finn making some silly faces and Birdie laughing.

The best form of stress relief was a newborn laughing… and it worked for them.

 _ **Mixed Tag Match…**_

The match progressed evenly and it wasn't long before Amanda had Maryse trapped in the Mistress Chamber… but once again, the lights shut off and came back on, Amanda being yanked up by her hair by Bray as Miz and Maryse ran.

Having had enough, Finn tackled Bray to the mat and put every bit of rage into every punch until Amanda pulled him away when she saw blood gushing from Bray's head and nose.

But Bray was back up to his hands and knees as they were leaving the ring, Finn's arms locked tightly around a shaken Amanda.

"That's my Abigail! Mine!" Bray shouted.

Amanda and Finn were at their wits end with this storyline… and both were convinced of two things.

Bray was either really into his character… or something truly traumatizing had happened in his past.


	15. Chapter 15

" _Abby… Abby, please wake up. Abby…" Two year old Bray sobbed as he held his twin sister in his arms, the small girl soaked heavily and long gone._

 _Watching from a distance, Amanda ripped her right hand out of the current day Bray's left one and looked at him._

" _Why did you show me this?" Amanda asks, her voice starting to crack as tears streamed down her face._

" _To make you remember… I tried but I couldn't save you then, Abigail… now I can, I have that chance to, my twin." Bray says, Amanda backing away from him._

" _I'm not her. Don't you get it?! I! Am! Not! Her!" Amanda says, shouting halfway through… but it was eerie._

 _She had seen pictures of herself at that age… as much as she wanted to deny it, she looked just like little Abigail did._

" _You're confused… you were too young to remember, my twin. But now you're here-" Bray says, grabbing her a little more forcefully this time. "And I'm never losing you again, Abigail Rotunda!" He growls, Amanda trying to get away but he tossed her down and she lost all consciousness after her head hit the ground…_

The traumatized screaming tore him from his sleep and Finn was immediately holding Amanda in his arms but her eyes were still snapped shut and she was still screaming, Finn leaning her against him as she started hyperventilating… he rubbed his hand up and down her back and eventually, Amanda's hands unclenched from being fists and her eyes opened, the normally sparkling hazel now reddened and angry looking as Finn softly sang _What A Wonderful World_ by Louis Armstrong, Amanda looking up at him.

These nightmares were taking a toll on her and he hated seeing her like that.

"Better?" Finn asks, Amanda sniffling slightly as she leaned against him when both were stretched out on the bed again.

The screams caught someone's attention as evidenced by the knock on the door.

"Everything okay in there?" Roman asks, his voice thick with sleep. Finn stood up and walked over to the door, answering it and letting Roman in as Amanda sat up, her eyes red. "You have that look that says you don't want to talk about it." He says.

"And I've had enough of this Sister Abigail storyline." Amanda says, grabbing her phone and sending Stephanie a text.

' _Is that suggestion for the meeting on tomorrow still on the table?'_

' _Taking me up on it kiddo? Okay, I'll call Hunter and my dad.'_ Stephanie replies.

' _Thank you.'_ Amanda replies, setting her phone aside as it started to rain and out of the corner of her right eye, seeing Dusty.

"You're doing the right thing, darlin'." Dusty says before disappearing.

Amanda still had that thought in the back of her mind that things would go haywire though… it wouldn't be the first time.

 _ **Seven years earlier…**_

' _What a letdown.' Bray Wyatt, better known as Husky Harris, thought, having been eliminated from NXT… it meant rebranding time._

 _Stood in front of him was a small figure in a white dress… he looked at it._

" _Abigail?!" Bray says in shock._

" _Hey… don't worry, brother. You'll come back and I'll be back… and we'll live out the dreams we had." Abigail says, her ivory toned skin and dark hair standing out before they hugged… and she disappeared after they let go._

" _Hey. You alright?" Bray heard, looked up and saw Amanda, also wearing a white dress but her skin was a bit more tanned than Abigail's and her hair was tied back in a ponytail… still, she resembled her, right down to the sparkling dark eyes._

" _Yeah… just a bittersweet feeling. You look amazing tonight." Bray says, the 20 year old across from him letting out a small smile._

" _I watched old matches of your dad when I was a young fan… I know one day, I'll see what you can do on the main roster." Amanda says, the two hugging for a few seconds before she left, the long skirt of her dress fluttering slightly._

 **Present time, 5 hours before Raw…**

"I don't know how much more I can take…" Amanda says, the others in stunned shock after she described her nightmare. Stephanie knew that the dark circles under Amanda's beautiful eyes weren't lying, this was too much on her.

"Okay… we'll talk to creative. And the next time you feel your health spiraling, you let us know immediately." Stephanie says.

"Yes, ma'am." Amanda says, her and Finn leaving the office in the arena.

Once in their locker room, Amanda was in her Demon Mistress ring gear with her Balor Club hoodie zipped halfway over it as she often used it when as a special guest enforcer like she would be tonight with Dean's match.

The tension was damn near suffocating in the arena as the couple held and kissed each other… and then jumped back as the door was kicked open and an enraged Bray charged in, Finn standing in front of Amanda.

"It's being revised and you two can't even bother to tell me yourselves?!" Bray yells, Amanda's head snapping up… and through the concealer, Bray saw the dark circles.

"Look at me. See me for me and not her… I haven't slept through the night these past few nights because of the constant night terrors!" Amanda says, Bray looking at her in shock as he figured out what Amanda knew.

"She… she drowned. She's gone but only physically. I see her much like you see little Daniel-" Bray says, cut off by a hard, stinging smack across his face and Finn restraining Amanda.

"I'm… I'm sorry… I went too far." Bray stammered after a few seconds, leaving as Amanda's arms went limp, the muscles relaxing.

"It's gonna be a crazy night." Finn and Amanda said simultaneously.

But unlike their usual times that they did that, no laugh followed.

 _ **Monday Night Raw,**_ **Amanda's P.O.V**

Have I mentioned that I hate jumpscares? No? Well, I do.

The lights went out, Finn took me into his arms and the lights returned, Bray stood in the ring and going through with the promo.

I walk over, taking the microphone from him.

"We'd run, huh? Only one who would run from the man who put the 1 in 21-1 is you… you're no match for the beast incarnate, even as this deranged, backwoods lunatic!" I say angrily, the fans silent… that's not doing much to help the tension as Bray rests his hand on my face and I shove it off.

"My sweet, innocent Abigail… where have you gone? Or were you even there to begin with?" Bray says in a chuckle that hid malice… fuck the script!

I slam my right knee into his ribcage, the brawl breaking out as everyone has to improvise now… but this needs to end.

Screaming won't help, I hate that it's boiled down to this!

I turn to check on Finn, who's down from a blow to the head during the brawl… and that's when it happens.

I scream as the force of Bray's fist hits my back and Finn and I fall before I'm yanked by my hair and trapped in the Sister Abigail.

"You killed my Abigail!" Bray screamed before he hits the finisher faster than I can think… and my consciousness leaves me, my other senses following…

 **3rd Person Perspective…**

The brawl increased with Jeff and Matt joining the fray and everyone ganging up and beating Bray down before Finn, Matt and Jeff ran to Amanda, who was still out cold.

"Come on, kiddo, wake up!" Matt says, dropping his accent as he shook the unconscious Cruiserweight Champion but it didn't work.

Finn tried the same but after a few seconds, he picked Amanda up in his arms and ran to the back with her.

When she finally was awakened, 30 minutes had ticked by and with it, Dean's match. Amanda knew the familiar scent of the trainer's room and the blurred voices, even the hand resting on her shoulder and the dark hair and blue eyes that it led to.

"Dean got disqualified…" Finn says.

"Fuck." Amanda muttered under her breath, knowing that the ending was improvised.

"I'm moving yours and Roman's match to next week and pushing the Alexa/Bayley segment further into the show. You stay back here with your girlfriend… Amanda, you're lucky you don't have a concussion." Kurt says.

"Then why was I out so…" Amanda tries to ask… before tracing her fingers along the stitches in the right side of her head.

In her nightmare, little Abigail was busted open on the right side of her head… and now so was she.

Finn helped Amanda sit up and slowly drink some water, Amanda's whole upper body feeling like it had gone under an 18 wheeler.

And it left her wondering what monster she had woken up in the once calm Bray Wyatt.


	16. Chapter 16

_The soft snoring to his left had woken the heavily sedated Irishman up and he looked over, half of Amanda's face covered by her tousled shoulder length hair and the other buried by the pillow that kept both their heads up as she, too deep in sleep to notice the surrounding world, bit down on her lower lip for a few seconds and twitched._

 _Lightly stretching the fingers on his right hand, Finn hated the sling already… but he had no choice in wearing it, even if it was only for a few months._

 _Amanda's eyes were slow to open as Finn lightly rubbed his left hand up and down the inner part of her right thigh, the amber tones barely visible amongst the hazel._

" _You sleep okay? Do you need me to find the surgeon, how's your arm?" Amanda asks, starting to ramble until Finn pressed his lips against hers and the two kissed again._

" _Waking up next to you… that's all I need to know that everything will be okay in its time, Mandy. You worry too much." Finn says, lightly tucking some of Amanda's hair behind her right ear as she rested her left hand near his right one. "Much like I worry about you." He says, brushing his numbed fingers on his right hand among the scar on her left wrist where it had been broken back in April._

" _That's how we are… worrying about each other. Letting the walls crash and building them back up around others." Amanda says._

" _There'll be one day where we can't build them back… and our vulnerability is out for everyone to see. And it'll be okay… because we'll show the world that we're human." Finn says before the two kissed again._

 _In these gentle moments with him, Amanda Rose Cena could get lost forever… and that's how she wanted it to stay._

 _That November on what was Survivor Series night, the two were in the backstage area at the ICW Fear And Loathing event… and a coughing fit left Amanda struggling to breathe, Finn pressing his hand against her forehead after taking her into his arms._

" _Fuck, you're burning up. Off to the hospital with you." Finn says, helping Amanda back to the locker room._

 _She would normally protest… but Scotland's medical care was free at least and the coughing fits had been going on for two weeks._

 _Sure enough, Bronchitis was the result… and Amanda was admitted overnight, Finn by her side just like she was by his after his surgery._

" _Next time we come here, it'll be a different occasion… something memorable in a good way." Finn says, Amanda looking at him._

" _Are you hinting at what I think you are?" Amanda asks, the two having talked about marriage recently._

" _Right under the famous Anvil in Gretna Green… the two of us with our families there. The next chapter of our life starting… the sound of little feet running around shortly after." Finn says, both letting smiles slip through._

 _Another cough rattled through Amanda's chest and Finn lightly rubbed his hand up and down her back until it stopped, both resting back onto the pillow._

 _Dreams do come true… but they take time…_

Backstage, Natia and Joe walked into the locker room and found Finn and Amanda half asleep as they continued watching Raw.

"How you feeling, kiddo?" Joe asks, Amanda nodding in a way that meant _"Not too bad."_... but he knew she was lying.

"You're not feeling it fully… it has to sink in." Natia says, her and Amanda hugging after Amanda stood up.

Amanda waited patiently for her cue after the two let go… and it started, Amanda and Finn kissing after he stood up.

"Guard your head." Finn whispered before Amanda left.

The fight between Alexa and Bayley was at full steam until Alexa knocked her down… getting arrogant, she jumped out and grabbed a kendo stick before running back into the ring.

The lights flickered and Alexa saw the familiar black and red as she felt the kendo stick being gripped tightly… before turning and seeing Amanda, who ripped it away from the self proclaimed goddess and proceeded to beat her with it, Alexa screaming in pain at the blows that the small dark haired diva dealt out.

Amanda dropped the kendo stick to the mat, walking over and helping Bayley to her feet.

"You okay, pal?" Amanda asks.

"Better than she is at the moment." Bayley says as both saw the Raw Women's Champion pull herself up to her knees.

In the trainer's room, Alexa and Bayley were both dealing with their wounds and Alexa was rubbing her sore and bruising back.

"Who taught that girl to use a kendo stick, Tommy Dreamer?!" Alexa growled in a bitter tone.

"Just think yourself lucky that I wasn't at full steam tonight or you'd be in a hospital bed." Amanda says as she was leant against the wall, Kurt walking in.

"I'm gonna give you all a fair shot… at Extreme Rules, it's gonna be a Kendo Stick On A Pole match with Amanda as the special guest enforcer." Kurt says before turning to Amanda. "And Shane called… he wants you to rest up til Backlash, kiddo." He says.

Amanda knew that Shane was watching… and it worried him.

Walking back to the locker room, Amanda stopped when she saw Owen and Roddy nearby, both looking at her.

"Exhibit more caution next time, kiddo." Owen says.

"He's right, darlin. That was scary." Roddy says before the two disappeared.

All the scrambled bits of her memory were still there... but Amanda was calm.

 **Sunday, Allstate Arena, 4 hours left until** _ **Backlash**_ **…**

Quiet settled amongst the arena and Finn and Amanda were taking advantage of it, her curled up in his arms and lightly readjusting her Balor Club tank top as she rested her head on his shoulder, her right arm lazily wrapped around his waist.

"Do you still think about it? What we talked about back in November?" Finn asks as they look at each other.

"Marriage, family… I've always wanted that in life. I still think about it, Finn… and I still want it." Amanda says before the two kissed.

Walking towards the locker room, Randy opened the door a bit and looked inside… before closing it and letting them be.

' _And I hope you live out every dream for yourselves, you two.'_ Randy thought with a smile before seeing Chris and Nancy and nodding at them before leaving.

After everything, all he wanted was for Amanda to be happy.

Even if in a non romantic way, the Viper still cared about the Demon Mistress… he always would.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Wrestlemania XXX, 3 Years Ago...**_

 _He didn't notice until the small blur ran past him what exactly was happening… but that small figure was hugging the Deadman and the commentators were confused as to why._

 _And so were he and Paul…_

 _The backstage area was quieter when Undertaker wrapped his large left hand around 23 year old Amanda's slender right wrist._

" _Why did you do that? He could've hurt you, kiddo." Undertaker says._

" _I think of you as an uncle, Mark… and seeing what happened out there, the undefeated streak ending… it was a bittersweet feeling." Amanda says, Undertaker carefully pulling her into his arms._

 _She wasn't even scheduled to be here tonight, only a month removed from her seizures… but he knew why she was here._

 _Later in the locker room, both saw Brock and Paul… and Brock and Undertaker shook hands, Undertaker leaving to find the others._

" _Mandy?" Brock says, the small brunette looking back at him after turning around and bits of her blonde ombre color showing up in her dark locks. "It is a bittersweet feeling, kiddo… I wish it had ended differently." He says._

" _I know, Brock." Amanda says, her normally sparkling eyes filled with tears. "I know." She whispered before leaving, Paul stopping Brock._

" _Give her time… she's more like them than you realise." Paul says, Brock nodding._

 _He hated seeing her cry… especially when he caused it…_

 **Present time…**

"Focus… focus." Amanda whispered while at ringside for the match, her head throbbing as Shinsuke faced off against Dolph.

The match progressed evenly with Shinsuke getting the victory and him and Amanda hugging after she got into the ring. Dolph pulled himself up and, breaking character, extended his hand.

Shinsuke shook it before all three headed to the back and Amanda took a few moments to compose herself… before feeling a hand pinch her side and letting out a small shriek, Randy laughing as she glared at him.

But the laugh and smile dropped when he saw how pale she looked.

"Damn… are you sure you want to go back out there? I'd understand if you wouldn't want to." Randy says.

"I'm okay… I can handle it." Amanda says.

"Okay, just… give me that subtle signal when you start feeling like you're dragging, princess." Randy says.

The two headed out there for the match… as she had earlier, Amanda memorized the script.

' _Jump on his back when the Bollywood Boyz interfere, go for the Demon's Destruction… how hard could it be? You've interfered before.'_ Amanda thought as the match progressed evenly.

The part crept up, Amanda bolted into the ring and jumped on Jinder, who was going along with the script and shook her off, Amanda helping Randy up.

Again was where it went wrong… on instinct, the Demon Mistress shoved the Viper out of the way and Jinder's left foot slammed hard into the right side of her head and she was down on the mat.

"Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck! What have I done?! I swear, I didn't mean it, I'm so sorry!" Jinder whispered in horror as tears started falling, Randy shoving him aside and crouching down to the barely conscious brunette as a terrified Finn ran into the ring and was near Amanda too, her left hand gripped in his hands and both trying to wake her up.

Amanda's eyes opened partially… and above her was someone else, a third set of blue eyes staring at her.

She couldn't talk though because at that point, all consciousness had left her.

 **Finn's P.O.V**

No… no, damn it, this can't be happening again! She's… I should've taken her to the hospital after what happened on Monday, the doctors backstage had missed something because now she's on a damn ventilator and everyone from both rosters to backstage personnel are here, no one's done much in the last 12 hours… is it really almost 9 am?

"It should be me on that damn machine, not her… she hasn't been the same after those seizures, she's…" I hear Randy say, Nia comforting him.

I walk into the room, the monitor making its usual sound that indicated that the patient's vitals were stable.

No swelling on her brain, no bleeding… she's just not waking up.

Sitting down, I take her right hand into my hands... and start singing _Little Wonders_ by Rob Thomas… but it's not working.

"Damn it…" I say in a rough voice as more tears fell. "I don't want to lose you, no one does… please, Mandy, you need to wake up." I say softly, hearing the glass door open and seeing Randy and Sami.

"Just give her time… she'll…" Randy says, cut off seconds later.

"Look!" Sami says as the toes on Mandy's right foot twitch… and then her hand squeezes mine and her eyes start to open.

 **Amanda's P.O.V**

Everything feels so damn fuzzy… but I'm alive, I… I cheated death twice now.

I try to talk but can't… and feel the ventilator tube down my throat before it's removed by the doctor.

"What… happened to me?" I ask, my voice sounding like a Dalek.

"You were rendered comatose for twelve terrifying hours… everyone's out there, Mandy, we were all scared to death that we had lost you." Finn says, lightly stroking my hair as Jinder walks in, dressed in normal clothes but his eyes are bloodshot and he looks like hell.

"Mandy, I am so sorry…" Jinder says after walking over, the two of us hugging.

"These things happen… I'm okay, it's not your fault." I say as we look at each other after letting go.

"I thought I had killed you when you weren't waking up immediately." Jinder says.

You don't know how close to death I was… I saw Chris there like I had before three years ago.

And his message was clear… I'm nowhere near ready to leave this earth, not by a long shot.

"I'm not leaving this world for a long time, Jinder… I still have too much left to do." I say.

"Damn right you do, Amanda Rose Cena." Jinder says before walking back outside with Randy and Sami after I hugged both of them and letting me and Finn have some time to ourselves… and I let the tears fall as both of us hug each other tightly.

"Don't you ever scare us like that again!" Natia says, nearly shouting as she and several others run in and Natia and I hug.

It's not my time, nowhere near it… I'm not letting anything take me.


	18. Chapter 18

_This isn't right… I walk further into the gathering, seeing Sami and Bayley._

" _What's going on? Who's…" I try to ask._

" _We're so sorry, Finn." Sami says as Bayley tried to control her heartbreaking sobbing… no!_

 _I run towards the coffin and open it, seeing Mandy… she looks like she's just sleeping._

 _This isn't real, right?! No, I couldn't have lost her._

" _I'm sorry…" I hear, look and see Mandy stood there in a white dress… like an angel._

" _But you were okay… you were doing better…" I say as tears fell faster than I could control them. John's head is lowered, Nikki's consoling him... everyone who loves Mandy is here grieving for her…_

 _No, this isn't real!_ _No, she can't be dead! She can't be, no!_

 _I turn and run after Mandy, screaming for her… but she's gone, she's..._

 _I fall to my knees, crying for my lost love… and then a blinding light hits me..._

I wake up with a scream, my eyes snapping open and I feel her right hand against my hair, brushing it back before I tackle Mandy to the bed and kiss her repeatedly, evoking soft laughter from her… I thought I'd never hear it again and that terrified me.

"You're alive…" I say with a slight croaky tone to my voice, stretching out next to Mandy and resting my right ear over her heart, hearing its soothing rhythm before stretching out to my full height next to her.

"Nightmares… it's okay, Finn, I've had plenty of them myself, I'm not going anywhere." Mandy says, her head resting on my shoulder as Baron ran into the room in a frenzy.

"Everything okay in here, you two?!" Baron asks.

"Fucked up nightmare." I say, Baron walking over and him and Mandy hugging.

Fucked up doesn't even describe it though… I don't know what I'd ever do if I ever lose her.

And I know she wouldn't go on without me… losing the one you love is like losing yourself.

 **A few days later, Amanda's P.O.V, 3 hours before** _ **WWE Raw...**_

"Easy there, boy." Both of us hear Owen say after Finn nearly hit the table with his fist, stopping when he saw the look in my eyes and unclenching his right hand.

"I'm sorry." Finn says, resting his hand on my left upper thigh and squeezing it gently… that nightmare really shook him, he's barely looked at me all day. "You need to know… it was of you being dead." He says.

That made me close my eyes and I felt warm tears running down my face… and then his hands on my face, I open my eyes and lean in, kissing him.

Finn pulls me on top of him, his hands lightly squeezing my hips and the kiss continuing until we were both nearly out of breath and had to stop, pressing our foreheads together.

"I would never leave you, I love you too much. Death will have to drag me kicking and screaming, Finn." I say softly, my shaking body slowing down to a tremble as we held each other.

The initial time frame for me taking another break from the ring was 2 months… but the checkup earlier revealed that I was healing faster and I'll only be out for 5 weeks.

"You two need us to leave?" We hear, look and see Enzo, Natia, Joe, Cass, Seth and of course, Jeff and Matt.

"We heard the table fall, thought there was trouble." Natia says, her and Enzo's clothes looking like they were just thrown back on.

"I almost lost my mind…" Finn says, me now sitting on his lap and my arm around his shoulders.

"After what happened to her, it's normal." Joe says.

Yeah, it is… I know Finn would never yell at me or hurt me, I just… I've not had the best luck in the past with romantic relationships, I've been on the wrong end of a temper and it's fucking scary.

The others leave, Enzo closing the door and me standing up and locking the door. But before I can head back to the couch, Finn pulls me around and we kiss again before he pins my arms against the wall and kisses my neck repeatedly, lightly biting it as I lock my legs around his waist.

"Now… where were we, my Demon Mistress?" Finn asks in that dark and mysterious Demon King voice… I love it when he talks like that…

 **Natia's P.O.V**

"You think she'll bounce back completely from this?" I ask after Enzo and I kiss… I still can't believe how we hooked up but we get along like Mandy and Finn.

"If the late icons can look out for her, so can we." Enzo says before we hold each other and I think back…

 _ **A few weeks earlier...**_

" _Damn the morning sun." I mutter, rubbing my face… and opening my eyes halfway as I see that not only am I naked but Enzo Amore is too as his eyes open._

" _Mornin, darlin'." Enzo says, his voice thick with sleep… and so damn cute. But when Joe finds out, he's gonna go absolutely apeshit._

 _Much like Seth did after finding out about Finn and Mandy's relationship._

" _What in the hell did we drink?" I ask, Enzo rubbing his hand up and down my back… and I see the Trojan packet so we weren't too out of it to not use protection._

" _Damned if I can remember… but I don't want this being a one night thing." Enzo says, me looking at him in slight shock as I was thinking the same thing._

 _Great minds do think alike, I've liked him for a long time but haven't said anything to him… he can be kind of intimidating to talk to sometimes._

" _So where do we go from here?" I ask, trailing my index and middle finger on my left hand along his right arm._

" _Well, what kind of breakfast do you like?" Enzo asks… breakfast date, he really is a sweetheart._

 _Spring really is turning into a season of romance..._


	19. Chapter 19

_**Two years ago, WWE Europe Tour...**_

 _Amanda headed off from the group and walked down the hallways, stopping when she reached Dean's locker room and knocking on the door… only to let out a startled yelp after it flew open and Dean yanked her into the room and slammed the door, locking it._

" _Was that necessary, you paranoid lunatic?! Unlock that door!" Amanda says after Dean turned back to her, Dean refusing to and not letting Amanda unlock it either._

" _Yeah, no chance of that! I'll only unlock it when Seth and Roman get here so we can all talk to you about what's been going on, kiddo!" Dean says, trying to smoke again but Amanda ripped the cigarette out of his mouth and slapped him. "Ow, what the hell?!" He asks, rubbing the right side of his face as fury was barely hidden in Amanda's hazel eyes._

" _This is a public building, you can't smoke in here! And there's nothing to talk about, we didn't give you this treatment when you and Renee got together!" Amanda says, Dean seeing a flash of teeth marks since Amanda's hoodie was only zipped partly._

 _Acting quickly, Dean unzipped it completely and saw the bites left behind from the body shots Seth had said he had witnessed._

" _Now Dean, just stay calm…" Amanda says when she saw the angered look in Dean's eyes._

" _Show me where else Balor bit you!" Dean growled, Amanda reluctantly pointing to her inner thighs and Dean closing his eyes for a few seconds. "I'm gonna fucking kill him!" He says lowly, brushing past Amanda._

 _Thinking quickly, Amanda grabbed a hardcover book and whacked it across Dean's head, knocking him down and Dean rendering himself disoriented._

 _Amanda dropped the book and dragged Dean to the bench, tying his wrists together with a silk tie she found that had most likely belonged to Renee since she had seen the blonde wearing some lately on the tour._

" _Amanda Rose, you un-fucking-tie me right-" Dean shouts, the rest muffled when Amanda taped his mouth shut with some duct tape._

" _No can do, Deano." Amanda says before glancing at the book, which was Fifty Shades Of Grey and chuckling at the irony before unlocking the door and leaving._

 _Amanda regretted doing that somewhat… and wished that two of her Shield brothers hadn't gone berserk during this tour._

 _But it was later that night when things truly went haywire._

 _Amanda jumped back in shock and fright when Seth's knee buckled and she heard three sickening snaps echo from it._

 _She knew right away that it his ACL, MCL and Meniscus tearing all at once and immediately broke character, rushing into the ring and helping Seth sit up, her right arm around his back to steady him as he screamed painfully into her right shoulder._

" _My knee! Mandy, I fucked it up really bad!" Seth sobbed, Amanda cradling him close to her and lightly stroking his hair as Kane and Mike Chioda went to find the paramedics._

" _It's okay, buddy, we'll get it fixed up… we'll get it fixed up." Amanda whispered into Seth's left ear as they held each other, the Demon Mistress trying to be strong for the Architect even as tears formed._

 _She blinked them away, not wanting Seth to see her like that. But she was scared like he was, she had seen this kind of injury end careers._

 _It was later at Saint James Hospital as Seth was in surgery that Amanda finally broke down crying as she and Finn held each other, Finn trying his best to comfort her._

" _He'll be back on the road before we know it, lass… everything will be okay, Mandy. Seth will be okay." Finn whispered, kissing Amanda on her forehead._

 _Amanda finally closed her eyes and fell asleep, Finn stretching out on the tan leather couch they were on and holding her to where half of her was on top of him._

 _He knew she hated being alone while she slept… and she didn't need to be alone now…_

 **Present time,** _ **Balor vs Anderson**_ **…**

"Not worried, per se… maybe just concerned with what happened earlier… and don't you dare say it, Corey." Amanda says, giving Corey a warning look as she knew he was scripted to insult Enzo, who had been jumped from behind in an unscripted attack… and Amanda had a feeling that either the current feud involving Enzo, Cass, Gallows and Anderson had gone off the rails or Joe had snapped, thinking he was protecting Natia.

Corey backed off and discreetly rubbed Amanda's left arm in comfort… they weren't as close as they once were but he had been scared to death after what happened at Backlash and was working on being civil to the tiny brunette.

The match progressed evenly with Finn getting the victory and Amanda leaving the commentators table and her and Finn hugging and kissing… he incidentally brushed the right sleeve of Amanda's Balor Club hoodie up and exposed the new angel wings tattoo she had gotten just after getting out of the hospital.

The white wing on the right was damaged slightly but designed so it was sown up while the white wing was undamaged… and it was done that way intentionally so it indicated that although damaged from the chaos, Amanda would survive it and grow stronger.

In the backstage area after getting cleaned up and dressed in normal clothes, Finn found Amanda's phone and accessed the Pandora app, Amanda turning around as _Book Of Love_ by Peter Gabriel started to play and smiling, gripping Finn's right hand and him pulling her in closer so they can slow dance with each other.

"All these moments in life… that's what really matters, the calmness. Us enjoying it while it lasts, love." Finn whispered, his hands resting on Amanda's lower back as they continued to dance.

"Time to ourselves is a rarity, Finn… I don't know what I would be like without you here with me." Amanda says quietly, her vulnerable side slipping through.

"No one is ripping us away from each other… we won't let them." Finn whispered, cupping Amanda's small face in his hands and the two kissing.

Amanda wanted to think better of hers and Finn's friends… but something was nagging at her mind.

And she didn't like it when her sixth sense acted up.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Monday Night Raw…**_

Memorial Day held fond memories as she watched the montage and listened to the voiceover work her and John put into it… before the show started and Miz Tv did with Miz ranting.

She knew it was just his persona but it was driving her nuts… and then the crowd started chanting "Demon Queen! Demon Queen! Demon Queen!".

"Well that's new." Miz says, Maryse rolling her eyes.

Amanda felt Finn's arms wrap around her waist and leaned against him, the two kissing.

"Be careful out there." Finn whispered, handing the black, white and red painted kendo stick to her after they let go and kissed before she left.

The small diva waited for her cue… but smirked slightly when she saw Dean walk to her and hid the kendo before playfully hitting him with it.

Dean yelped and jumped back, Amanda laughing.

"That's not funny!" Dean says, rubbing his left hip before his music hit and he walked out there.

Amanda watched the promo, even as Jeff and Matt joined in… and then there was her cue as _Whatever_ by Our Lady Peace played and she walked out there to the cheering like maniac fans.

Amanda soaked the cheers in and closed her eyes for a few seconds before giving the subtle cue to stop the music.

"Damn, I forgot how loud it is…" Amanda says as the fans changed "Benoit! Benoit! Benoit!" for five solid minutes.

"Why don't you go back to yours and your Demon King's locker room and rest up that head before you suffer more head injuries that lead to a murderous blackout?!" Maryse screamed after getting out and getting in the smaller diva's face, Amanda dropping the purple and silver title… and her head snapping up before she proceeded to beat the bleached blonde with the kendo stick until Dean, Matt and Jeff restrained her, Dean grabbing the dropped title.

In the backstage area, Alexa was watching and looked away out of pure shock before feeling Natia's hand on her shoulder.

"Think she'll get in any trouble for that?" Alexa asks shakily.

"I don't know… if anything, I think Maryse might've just cost herself her second chance here." Natia says, turning and seeing Finn run to the others, who held a still enraged Amanda against the wall, the two following him.

"Think you can calm her nerves?" Jeff asks.

"Yes, just let her go." Finn says, the three letting the small brunette go.

Amanda tried to stay calm when the two were in their locker room… but then they saw a small ghost in a white sundress, the ghost looking about 2 years old and with hair in some sort of shade between dark blonde and light brown.

"Don't be afraid, you two…" The ghost says, both realising that it was Abi when Roddy appeared.

"Leave them alone, Abigail! You'll cause no further harm to my family!" Roddy said in a firm voice as he stood in front of the couple, Abi narrowing her eyes.

" _Your_ family?! You lost your family a long time ago, old man!" Abi yelled.

"That's enough!" Amanda screamed, Abi looking at her in shock. "This needs to end, Abi… you need to be at rest and stop torturing people." She says, Abi starting to fade.

But before she did, she said "Bray was the one who wanted to go swimming that day… he's the reason I'm dead!", Roddy turning to the two.

"The dead rarely lie… I think that was her confession on her last moments of life." Roddy says before disappearing.

"Do you think she'll come back?" Finn asks after turning to Amanda.

"I don't know… I just don't understand the spirit world at times." Amanda says.

 **Later, Amanda's P.O.V**

"The hell was that out there, why do you feel the need-" I start to ask as Alexa walked through the curtain.

"It's best for business." Alexa answered simply… and then backed away as I raised the kendo stick I was once again holding… before lowering it.

"Don't ever quote The Authority to me again… I hope Bayley beats you senseless at Extreme Rules." I growl, feeling Finn's hand on my back.

"I think it's best that you go, Alexa." Finn says, Alexa leaving before Finn and I looked at each other, him holding my left hand. "You okay?" He asks.

"For now…" I say before we kiss.

The triple threat match starts minutes later, progressing smoothly… up until Joe's left foot slams right into my right shoulder and I drop to one knee.

"You fucking crazy son of a bitch!" I hear Finn yell at Joe before Finn gets out of the ring and helps me up.

"I'm okay." I say, Bray getting out of the ring on the other side… which confuses us but Finn and I kiss before he heads back in there and he and Joe improvise the end of this match with Finn getting the win.

In the trainer's room, I have ice taped to my shoulder after X-Rays and MRIs, the scans coming back and thankfully, nothing's broken… just the old damage from the injury when I crashed into the barricade at the 2007 Royal Rumble.

The door opens and we see Joe and Natia walk in.

"Nothing's broken, no dislocation, no torn muscles or ligaments." I say.

"I still hurt you, kiddo." Joe says before we hug carefully.

"I've been hurt worse." I say after we let go… it's best to leave it at that for now.

The sooner my medical leave ends and I'm back in that ring, I have to get back on track.

 **Extreme Rules, interview taping for** _ **WWE 24: Amanda Rose Cena…**_

"You ready? You look a little nervous, Mandy." Lita says, Amanda nodding.

"Well after this, I'm also doing a taping for _Superstar Ink_." Amanda says, Lita seeing the bandages on Amanda's right wrist and after Amanda turned around and pulled her newly dyed bluish black hair into a ponytail, the one between her shoulder blades.

"Can I see what they are?" Lita asks, Amanda nodding and Lita carefully pulling the white gauze off.

 _I gconai Agus Deo_ was the one between Amanda's shoulder blades, a set of black angel wings on her right wrist… with the right wing designed to be stitched together but still damaged, the left one unharmed.

"Mandy… these are beautiful…" Lita says as she had tears in her eyes.

Deep down, both knew that Amanda was that beautifully broken soul… and she was gonna get stronger and come back better.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Final chapter… but this series is far from over. ;)**

 **A/N 2 from Brookeworm3: Hi there, my name is Brookeworm3 and I've helped with RedRose85's and Scott Hall Lover's co written stories as well as several of RedRose85's stories. I love these stories and am happy that we get to write them together, us being wrestling fans who have too many favorite wrestlers to count, lol. Whether the stories are humor, heartbreaking or edge of your seat dramatic, I hope you all enjoy them and future ones that are written. Thank you Red for being an amazing friend and helping out.**

 _ **3 hours prior to Extreme Rules,WWE 24: Amanda Rose Cena…**_

"My name is Amanda Rose Cena… I'm 26 years old and my wrestling career started when I started training at 14. There's been a lot of good times… but I'm not gonna lie, there's also been a lot of bad times. But I wouldn't change how it happened." Amanda says.

"That's what makes legendary careers, no regrets… you've told me before but not in specifics, when did you first become a fan of our iconic sport?" Lita says.

"I was really young, 5 years old… I was up late one night even though I shouldn't have been, I was watching New Japan Pro Wrestling… that's where I first saw two of the men that changed my life, Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero. On from New Japan, I watched ECW, then WCW and WWE when it was WWF… I was shocked at how different it was then and it's changing today. I still watch New Japan too, which is where I first saw Finn Balor." Amanda says, smiling slightly.

"Who you fell in love with… is there any chance of an engagement ring in the near future?" Lita says, Amanda trying to hide a slightly bashful smile. "I know that look well… okay, who was the first wrestler you met?" She says, asking the last part and Amanda turned to her.

"Chris Benoit… that's a story I've been wanting to share for a long time…" Amanda says, taking a deep breath…

" _Oh, sorry." 10 year old Amanda says, her eyes snapping shut as she had inadvertently walked into the wrong locker room, Chris Benoit laughing slightly and pulling his shirt back on before turning to the young girl._

" _It's alright, kiddo… the hallways all look the same after a time. You're John Cena's little sister, right?" Chris says, Amanda opening her eyes._

" _Yeah, he's in an untelevised match later… it's nice to meet you, Mr. Benoit." Amanda says, her and Chris shaking hands._

" _Call me Chris… and what happened to your tooth?" Chris says, asking the last part after seeing that Amanda's right lateral incisor was gone._

" _Karate accident… got kicked in the mouth three days ago." Amanda says…_

"Things were different in those days…" Amanda says as she tried not to cry, Lita reaching over and pulling her into a hug.

The taping finished with Amanda explaining hers and Finn's Summerslam injuries and then quickly ducking out, her and Finn hugging and kissing.

"The part in the script for the match…" Finn says, whispering the rest to Amanda.

 _ **Fatal Five Way match,**_ **Amanda's perspective…**

' _Do it.'_ I thought before preventing Seth from entering the ring by grabbing his left ankle as Finn got the victory over Joe, me jumping back from Seth… but he's not angry.

"Good job, kiddo. Go celebrate with your man." Seth whispers, me running into the ring and Finn picking me up in his arms and spinning me around before we kissed… and fall to the mat, Finn on top of me as we laugh and kiss again.

Okay, that's one unscripted moment I love… things got so crazy lately that I wouldn't change this for anything.

"I love you, Amanda." Finn whispers, lightly stroking my face.

"I love you too, Finn." I whisper back before we stand up and kiss again before exiting the ring.

Love… a life lasting love is a rarity.

And Finn and I found it in each other.


End file.
